The Bitter End
by Dcm3387
Summary: [Chap 11] Sequel to Far behind. Did Hunter kill Dustin's father? Was the accident all just a lie? Or is Hunter being framed? Can Dustin handle more pain and shocking news or will it send him in a rage of revenge?
1. Prologue

**A/N:** Sequel to Far Behind, you don't really have to read the story to understand it, but it kind of does help. This is a Mystery/Angst. Dustin will learn the truth of what really happened to his father, face hardship and pain and determination for revenge.

**The Bitter End**

**Prologue**

"I didn't do it."

Those four words pierce the silence within the room as Hunter took a step back. He stood in the middle of his trashed apartment, the clock was about to strike 11. The sound of the T.V echoed in the other room, the world remained ever so oblivious by the event that had occurred. He kept his eyes locked on his friend in front of him, the gun pointed straight at him.

"Dustin." He slowly put his hand up, "Please don't do this. You're making a grave mistake."

The brunette stepped out of the shadow, the small light over Hunter's ceiling shined upon him. Hunter remained motionless, his fear shivered through his body. A trickle of tears fell down Dustin's face as he clenched the weapon in his hand. His eyes showed mix emotions of anger and pain.

"All this time I thought you were my friend." The brunette's voice cracked at each word, "You bastard."

"Dustin." Hunter tried to reason with him, "The radio. The speech. What about everything you said. You know I wouldn't do this to you."

"This was before I found the truth!" He screamed over his voice, "You killed my father! You lied to me! All this time, it was you!" He took a few steps forward and loaded the gun, "And now you will pay."

Down on the streets, Tori and Shane ran as fast as they could. They stopped at the bottom steps of the building and looked up at Hunter's window. The sound of gun fire echoed the room, the two of them glanced at each other. They dashed into the building and up the stairs, Shane quickly kicked up the door and they ran inside. Tori screamed at the top of her lungs, grabbing Shane by the shirt.

"Oh my god." She buried her face, "No! Shane, please tell me this didn't happen."

Shane remained speechless as he looked at the scene in front of him, in the eyes of the one that was holding the gun.

"We were too late." He whispered, "Why did you do it!?" He screamed at him.

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End Prologue! Hope you enjoy this fantastic story!


	2. Over the Edge

**Chapter 1**: Over the Edge

**_2 Weeks Earlier_**

Dustin was sleeping peacefully in his dorm room, half buried in all the sheets. The room was half dark, and complete silence. The door slowly opened and Tori, the devious blonde snuck in and crept towards his bed. Leaning over and smiling at the innocent boy in front of her, she took a deep breath and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Good Morning!"

The screamed shattered the peace, causing Dustin to snap awake in fright and fall out of the bed with the sheets crashing down on top of him. Tori laughed as she backed away a bit and helped the brunette up.

"I'm so sorry." She said through each burst of laughter, "I couldn't help it."

Dustin groaned, standing up, revealing nothing but his boxers on. He yawned a bit and stretched, rubbing his eyes.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He yawned a bit more.

She crossed her arms and nodded, "It's quarter past 11 Dustin."

He grinned a bit, "Oh in that case."

She smacked him in the chest and walked towards the door, "Put some clothes on. Were suppose to meet Shane in the campus field. Dustin slowly walked over to grab some clothes he had laying on top of his dresser. He then headed into the bathroom and turned the light on, closing the door. Looking into the mirror, he ran his hands through his messy brown hair to try to neaten them. Sighing, he clasped his hand together and just smiled. 3 straight months of no drugs, no real problems and for once, a normal life. Everything was looking up, he and Tori were together. He finally moved on from his father's death and was doing excellent in school. He was loving every minute of his life and there was no reason he shouldn't be.

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Tori opened the door, the sun was high up in the sky. She stuck her hands in her back pockets and idly walked onto the grass and towards where Shane was sitting. The red ranger grinned and turned to her, placing his hands on the back of the bench.

"Is he up yet?"

She nodded, "Yeah. He'll be done in a minute."

"Finally." He turned to face the front again, "He is one lazy bastard." He smirked.

Tori laughed and sat down next to him, "Next week we have a vacation. We going back into the city?"

He shrugged and twirled his skateboard in his hands, "Yeah, Cam invited us to help back at the academy for a bit. Mind as well."

"Excellent." She turned back to the entrance of the dorm and noticed Dustin walking out, she smiled and stood up, "And here's the dork now."

Dustin strode through the campus and towards them. The wind scowled across his skin, sending shiver down his body. He shook the feeling off and wrapped his hands around his two friends.

"Dude, let's get going." He smiled, "Let's hit the skate park!"

The three of them raced to Tori's van and jumped in. Minutes past and they finally arrived at the park. Dustin leaned out the window and looked at all the skaters. The place was somewhat busy, he turned to see Shane and Tori hopping out. Climbing out himself, the three of them headed deeper into the skate park to a clear area. Shane jumped on his board and began riding around as Tori took sat on a bench.

"Come on Shane!" She cheered, "Show us your move!"

"I've been practicing this one. Maybe I can land it." He responded.

Dustin moved and sat down next to Tori, she moved closer and leaned her head on his shoulder, smiling and watching Shane pull off moves on the ramp. She clapped occasionally and looked up to see Dustin rooting also.

"You wanna get something to eat after?" She turned his face towards her.

He reached out and pulled her hand away, clasping it with his, "Sure. First though, I want to go see my father."

"Okay." She nodded, "I'll take you there after this."

"You sure?" He let go of her hand, "I do have my own car ya know."

"I want to." She leaned in and kissed him, "No problem here."

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Hunter walked out of his apartment in Blue Bay Harbor and sighed a bit as he stuck his hands in his pocket. He decided he had nothing much to do but to go for a walk around the city. Hopefully spot someone he knows or something. Lately, their hadn't been much to do, and he missed hanging out with everyone. He turned and went towards his mail box, sticking his hand in and pulling out a few letters. One was from his brother Blake, a few bills and letter from an address he never heard of. He opened it up quickly and scanned through it, looking up for a second.

"No way." He whispered to himself.

He folded the letter in his pocket and dashed inside and back into his apartment. Nearly tripping, he jumped over the couch and towards a phone, quickly dialing a few numbers.

"Bradly's room, Blake speaking." A subtle voice responded on the other end.

"Hey Blake! It's your bro." He pulled out the letter, "I got a question for ya."

"Oh hey Hunter." He sounded sketchy for some odd reason, "What's up? I'm about to leave for my next race."

"Did you get your mail yet?"

"Yeah a few hours ago, I didn't check it though." He grew curious.

"Did you get a letter from this Mr. Swan guy?"

"Hold on." The sound of him searching through the things echoed in the phone, "Oh here it is. Yeah, what's it about?"

"Don't you remember who he is!?" He exclaimed, "Thunder Ninja, Class of '94. The only guy who was able to beat Sensei Omino."

"What does he want with us?"

"I don't know, but he wants us to meet him at the Saran Towers at the edge of Blue Bay tonight."

"Alright. I'll meet you there around 5."

"Don't be late bro." He hung up and turned on the couch, "Okay Mr. Swan. I did my part." He got up and grabbed his keys before leaving once more."

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"Bye Shane!" Tori waved as she climbed into the van with Dustin, "Alright, let's hit the road."

They had out with Shane long enough, but he wanted to stay a bit longer so the two of them decided to head towards the grave so Dustin can sit and reflect like had been doing for the last few weeks. Tori pulled out of the parking lot and began driving down the road, she turned on the radio and smiled over to Dustin. They remain silent till they got to the graveyard. Stopping where the road ends, Dustin climbs out and close the door, looking in the window.

"I'll be right back." He spoke, "Try not to go anywhere."

"I'll try not to." She smirked, leaning back on the seat, "Take your time!"

Dustin took a few steps forward, passing stone graves after stone graves before stopping in front of his fathers. Small white and red flowers laid against the stone, the wind blowing gently. He shoved his hands in his pocket and looked down at the grave. He sighed deeply, exhaling loudly.

"Well Dad." He whispered, "It's been how many weeks now?" He bent down and sat in the grass, "This must be really annoying huh?"

He smirked a bit trying not to laugh. He grabbed a piece of grass and began toying it, even when his father can't reply, he still couldn't seam to find the right things to say. He looked down at the dirt in front of him.

"Yeah I'm getting an A in History." He began to smile again, "I know. An A. It's pretty crazy." He tried to hold back the tears, "Oh by the way! I'm a top class Earth Ninja and once a power ranger. I saved the world! Got to pilot giant zords and even fight a bunch of bad guys!" He got all excited, "I just wish.." His voice began to crack, "I just wish I could have told you... so you could be so proud of me..."

Tori leaned forward, watching Dustin front of the window. She leaned against the steering wheel and sighed, she could see the pain in his eyes. She forced a smile and turned to see two men walking past her van. They wearing suites and trench coats, each with one of those detective kinds of hats. She remained in the van as they walked up to Dustin.

"Mr Brooks?" The one with the tan hat spoke, "Can we have a word with you?"

He looked up, the sun was in his eyes. Squinting, he pushed himself up and shook their hands, "Yeah what do you want?"

"My name is Kalvin." He responded and flipped up his wallet revealing a badge, "I'm a Detective, and I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"About what?"

"We just want to see if your father have any enemies that you might know of?" The one in the grey finally spoke up, "You know? So we can get a lead on his murder?"

Dustin arched his brows, "Murder? I thought he died in an car accident!"

The two of the glanced at each other, "I can assure you, that is not the cause of his death. Did you not get access to his report?"

"My mother took care of it." He grumbled, "I don't know."

"Alright." He spoke, "Thank you for you're time. We'll go talk to your mother."

The two of them turned and walked away. Tori wasn't sure what was going on. She climbed out of the van and watched them pass by. Tori turned and ran towards Dustin who fell to his knees. She bent down and lifted up his face.

"What's the matter?" She asked, "Come on Dustin."

He grabbed her, trying to fight back the rage and pain of the news he just heard. Tori felt his fingers digging in her arms, she tried to block the pain and hug him tightly.

"He was murdered." He screamed in her chest, "My mother lied!"

She looked away, holding him tightly. He bursted into tears, he didn't know what was going on. The news was such shocker, it really snapped his state of mind at the thought. The one person he could count on, the one person in his family that he cared wasn't taken away by fate? But by some murderer, some guy who took away an innocent man's life? When Tori realized that, she knew that's probably how she would react. The blonde did her best to try to calm him, hugging him tightly.

"It's okay." She reassured him, "Come on Dustin. Let me take you back."

He pushed her away and stood up, clenching his fist. Anger kicked him, he began to walk forward. Tori stood up and cleared her bangs out of the way.

"Where are you going?" She shouted out.

"I'm going to find this killer." He turned, "And I will make him pay."

"You're going into this blindly!" She ran up to him, "Please don't do this!"

He turned, "I have to."

She grabbed his arm, trying to stop him. He turned and smacked her across the face and turning to run. Tori fell to the ground hard, tears streamed down her face. She looked up to see him ninja streak off.

"Dustin!" She screamed, "Dustin!!!"

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End Chapter! Read and Review! Also note: I may be changing the title of this Story, so look out for a new name soon.


	3. The Search For Truth

**A/:N**: Just to inform people, this story takes place two weeks before the prologue. If that caused any confusion on time refrence, I'm sorry!

**Chapter 2:** Search For Truth

Night had fallen, Tori and Shane were pacing around the dorm room waiting for him to come back. Tori never felt so scared in her life. She was worried, she had never seen him so angry in her life. Peaking out the window every so often, she turned and sighed. Minutes felt like hours, and there was absolutely nothing she could do. Shane was informed on what was going on, he was a bit worried also, but he remained calm. He knew that Dustin would think this through, that he wouldn't do anything stupid without thinking of the consequences first. The sound of the door caught their attentions as they stood frozen. The door quickly swung open and the brunette in yellow fell to the ground.

"Oh my god." Tori dashed forward and tried to help him up, "Dustin? Are you alright?"

"I'm-I'm fine." He slurred every word as he stumbled into Shane's arms, "I'm just a bit dizzy."

Shane pulled him back up, trying to get him to stand on his own feet. Tori placed her hands on her mouth, closing her eyes and trying to collect her thoughts. Dustin was busy stuttering in the background, the two of them knew he was drunk. Shane tried to look at the brighter side of it all.

"At least he's not doing drugs." He smirked a bit, "Come on Dustin." He tried to pull him, "You need to rest."

The brunette yanked himself away, tripping over himself and hitting against the wall. He turned and leaned against it, staring at the two, "No!" he screamed in anger at them, "I'm not going anywhere!"

"Dustin." Tori rubbed her arms a bit, her voice quaked, "Please listen to us."

He slide down on the floor, banging his head against the wall. Rubbing his hands up and down his face, he tried to hold back the tears again. He felt sink, his head was pounding and he just wanted to lash out at them. Tori bent down and placed her hands on his knee and forced a smile.

"I'm right here Dustin." She said with most sincere.

"I couldn't find him." He muttered, "I couldn't find those detectives. I couldn't find my mother." He leaned forward, "I can't find the murderer."

"You don't even know where to look." Shane grew frustrated, "Dustin, you got to stop walking through all this blindly. Something bad is going to happen. What happened to moving on and looking to the future?"

Dustin glared at him, clenching his teeth and pushing himself up. He stumbled forward and pointed his finger at him, "Shut up." He snapped at him, "You don't understand!"

"You say that all the time." He crossed his arm.

"Shane stop it." Tori demanded.

Dustin swung his fist forward, Shane moved out of the way, and behind him, grabbing a hold on him. The two of them struggled, bashing into the wall and knocking things off the dresser. Shane kept his hold on him, as Dustin tried to break free.

"Stop it!" Tori screamed.

They fell to the ground, Dustin was out of energy and to wasted to struggle any longer. Dustin gave up on moving, Shane tried to turn him around and help him up but with the brunette not taking any of the weight off, it was a bit hard. Tori watched idly as Shane used all his strength to lift him up. The brunette just buried his face in Shane's sweater, letting his tears flow.

"It just isn't fair." His voice muffled, "It just isn't fair.."

"I know.." He whispered, "I know.."

He lifted Dustin out of his arms and Tori intercepted the brunette, letting him rest on her shoulder. She held him tightly, the two of them lost in the moment. Shane slipped out of the dorm, to leave the two alone. Moving towards the bed, Tori sat him down on the edge and brought his face to meet her's.

"I love you.." She whispered.

She pulled him close to another hug, trying to calm him down, "I tell you what. Tomorrow we can track down your mother and get all the answers you need. Take this one step at a time okay?"

"Okay.." he muffled a bit.

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Blake streaked to the location that was given, he was an hour late but it didn't really matter to him. Hunter was waiting patiently by the door for his brother. As Blake appeared, the dirty blonde grumbled and turned to him.

"Way to be on time." He sarcastically stated, "Was I not clear enough?

"Hey, racing is a bit more important right now." Blake countered, "Besides, this whole thing sounds bogus anyway. You really believe this letter?"

"Come on." Hunter smacked him in the back of the head, "Let's find out."

The two of them entered the large Saran Skyscraper and into the lobby. Spinning around, Blake was amazed at how large and busy the place was. Hunter though, it seamed like he had been here before. Heading towards the lobby desk, he placed his arms on the counter and leaned over to see a secretary typing on a computer.

"Excuse me." He called out to her, "I'm here to see Mr. Swan."

She looked up, "Do you have an appointment?"

"I'm sorry." He grinned a bit, "You must have miss heard me. I want to see Mr. Swan."

She gasped a bit and turned, "Ah yes, we've been expecting you. Take the elevator the top floor."

Blake gave a weird look as he turned, "Um that was strange."

Hunter winked at the secretary, before turning to catch up with his brother. They hit the elevator, walking in and pressing the button. Listening tot he 80's elevator music, they remained quiet till they reached the 57th floor. The door opened to a huge room, with pillars going down the center and a red carpet towards a desk. Large windows stretched across the sky, getting a view of the entire city. Blake stepped out noticed two guards standing at each side of the elevator. He then proceeded, with his brother behind him towards the desk.

"Uh." Blake leaned forward, "Mr. Swan?"

The black chair slowly turned around and a middle aged man appeared in front of them. Dressed in a business suite, he had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He was about the same height as Hunter and smiled, extending his hand.

"Ah, you must be Blake Bradly."

Blake shook his hand, "It's an honor to meet you sir."

Hunter coughed a bit and extended his hand, "I'm Hunter Bradly, uh Mr. Swan."

He smiled a bit and shook his hand also, "Nice to meet you." He let go, "But please. Call me Van."

"Wow." Hunter crossed his arm, "Victor Swan. One of the greatest Thunder Warriors ever."

He just laughed, "They certainly do exaggerate on my stories don't they?"

"Not to be rude." Blake checked his watch, "But I slipped away from Factory Blue. They have no idea I'm here, and if they know I'm gone, I just don't want to think on what they will do."

"I just wanted to inform you some information regarding your biological parents." He pulled out a folder, "A few contacts of mine pulled out some information."

Blake gave a surprised look, he took the folder and looked at it, "Where did you get all this?"

"I have connections." He smiled, "Sensei Omino was telling about two great Thunder Students. After hearing you were adopted, I thought I would give some information."

"I don't know what to say.." He never felt happier, "Thank you Van."

"This folder is for you." He handed it to Hunter "Tell me how things turn out."

Blake nodded, "Let me know if there is ever anything I can do for you." He turned and headed towards the elevator, "Coming Hunter?"

Hunter turned, "I'll meet you down there."

Blake nodded and entered the elevator. Hunter's smile faded away and he turned and glared at Van.

"I don't know what you're up to, but I will bring you down." Hunter muttered, "You know I still will."

"What? Come on!" Van laughed a bit, "After everything I just did for your brother?"

"Isn't it funny how a few rumors around a Thunder Academy can come to my attention?" He walked closer to the desk, "When I find the evidence. I'm taking you down."

"Check the folder before you start making any threats."

Hunter paused, grabbing the folder and opening it, revealing pictures after pictures of the car accident. Of Dustin's Father's car accident. He noticed that he was practically in everyone, "No.." He whispered, "You're trying to frame me! You were the one who attacked him! Not me!"

Van laugh and shook his head, "Frame you? Just admit it Hunter. You just went a little crazy and killed an innocent person. And there's the evidence to prove it."

Hunter stuffed the pictures back in and stormed towards the elevator. He spun around and hit a button, flicking Van off before the door closed. He sighed realizing that if Dustin found out, he could cause a lot of problems. He needed to find Tori, or someone and tell them the truth before Van could get a chance to corrupt and twist it.

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The next day, Dustin was up and about 7 in the morning. Tori promised she would take him early to see his mother and he was holding her to that promise. Opening the door to leave, he spotted Tori who was just about to knock on the door. She smiled and grabbed his hand, closing the door silently not to wake up Shane up.

"Cam's coming down again." She smiled, the two of them tried to make conversation on the way to the car, "Isn't that great?"

"Yeah." He nodded, rubbing his head, "Man, I wish I can remember last night."

"Best that you not."

"I just want to find some answers." He climbed into the van, "Let's hurry up."

She nodded and the two of them drove off the campus and into the city. Traveling for a bit, silence filled the air as Tori drove. They closed in on Dustin's house. Stopping in front of the one story yellow house, he sighed and leaned on the door.

"Do you want me to come in with you?" She asked.

He shook his head, "Can you wait here? I'll come back when you can come in." He smiled, "sorry."

"Don't be." She squeezed his hand.

He forced a smile, and let go, hoping out of the van. He quickly walked through the grass, the morning breeze sent shivers down his back. He looked around the flower pot for a spare key, spotting it wedged in the corner. Grabbing it, he unlocked the door and walked in, looking around. Spotting his mother making breakfast in the kitchen, he tapped on the wood panel of the door to catch her attention.

"Dustin." She looked up in surprise, "What are you doing here? Its early."

"I came to ask you a question." He got straight to the point, "If I can pry you from your busy life."

"Sure what is it?" She sat down, "Is it school related?"

"No and don't start that crap!" He pointed out.

"What then?"

"Was my father murdered or did he really die in a car accident." He firmly asked, "Don't lie."

She sighed, holding her cup of coffee. Taking a sip. She placed it down, "Oh boy."

* * *

A/N: Uh-oh! Did Hunter really kill Dustin's father? Or is he getting framed!? How Dustin's mom going to explain the truth to Dustin!? Find out next chapter! Read and Review Please!


	4. Confession of A Teenage Thunder Ranger

**Chapter 3:** Confession of a Teenage Crimson Thunder Ranger

Dustin dropped his head, he couldn't believe it. His mother was actually holding something from him, and something important. He tried to hold back his anger, waiting patiently for an explanation. His blood boiled through his veins, he tried to take slow breaths, glaring at his mother for an answer.

"Well." His tone deepened, "You going to tell me?"

She leaned forward and touched his hand. The warm feeling reminded him of how much he missed the old mother he use to know. She was so different now, many years can do that to a person yet you don't notice when it happens in small dosages.

"Look." She spoke softly, "I never meant to keep this from you, but we wanted to protect you."

"Protect me from what?" He pulled his hand away and stuck them on his lap, "I don't understand. Why would you keep something like this from me? Don't I deserve to know!?"

She sighed and looked down, "I just thought I could protect you by doing so. Keep you focus on your school work, then running around figuring out who the murderer was."

Dustin bolted up, knocking the chair backwards, "You were more worried about my school work then telling me the truth!?" He roared.

She remained quiet as he turned and grabbed his hair. Yelling at the top of his lungs, he slammed a fist into a nearby mirror, he caused the glass to shatter. He winced a bit, as blood begin to flow from the cuts in his fist. His mother stood up quickly.

"Dustin.." She grabbed some towels, "I know your mad but you have to understand.."

Dustin pushed her away and began walking to the door, "Goodbye Mother."

"Wait." She forced her hands on his shoulder, "You're sister is coming to visit in a few days. You can't go running around like a mad man."

He yanked himself away from her, "Actually I can do whatever I want. Since when do care anway?"

"Because I love you." She grabbed him again, holding his face, "I really do Dustin. And I'm sorry for what I have done in the past, the way I have acted and I don't expect forgiveness, but I do love you."

He pulled away from her and turned around, "Well don't expect love back." He muttered, "Cause you're an evil women with intentions that only help you with disregard of my feelings."

He stormed out, leaving the hurt mother standing alone. Those words pierced her heart, she felt broken because of it.

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Tori was waiting patiently in the van. She hummed to the beat of the radio, glancing at the Brook's house every so often. She was a bit bored, but she knew that this was important and had to be patient about it. She just hoped that everything was going well in there. Her cell phone began to ring, to a tropical beat. Pulling it out, she noticed Hunter was calling her and answered it.

"Hello."

"Tori." Hunter's voice sounded serious on the other end, "You busy?"

She glanced back at the house, "Uh kind of."

"I need to talk to you. It's important."

"Okay, can I see you in an hour or something?"

"No I need to see you now." He demanded, "It's extremely important."

"Okay." She felt a bit lost, "Let me get Dustin first then."

"No. Come alone. Please?"

She remain silent for a few seconds. She turned to see Dustin exiting out of his house and making his way towards her, "Alright. I'll be there in a few minutes."

Dustin made it to the van. He opened the door and climbed in, sighing with relief. Tori hung up the phone and stuff it in her pocket, turning to see his fist wrapped in a clothe.

"What happened?" She looked a bit worried, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine." He lied, he was really angry, "I need to go see this detective. I need answers."

Tori nodded and turned the engine of the van on, "Alright. I'll drop you off. I have to go take care of something important."

Dustin arched his brows, "What's that?"

"I just have to check on something, I promise I wont be gone to long."

He just looked out the window, not really responding. Tori bit her lips as she shifted into drive and began to head into the busier part of the city. Heading near the police station, Tori turned off the radio and drove into the parking lot. The two of them remain silent, both lost in thoughts and both with many questions on different things.

"Alright. I'll be back as soon as your done." She smiled, "Cheer up Dustin, you're a lot cuter with a smile then a frown."

He opened the door and hoped out turner to her, "Yeah I'll give you a call."

Tori watched with a weak smile, as he headed into the building. Rubbing her head, she was getting annoyed, she shifted her van in reverse and began heading towards Hunter's apartment. Turning on a few streets, 10 min later, she finally arrived. Parking the van across the street, she jumped out and felt the cool breeze blowing by. Looking both ways, she dashed across the street and into the building. Walking up the narrow stairs, she walked to room 117 and knocked on the door. It slowly opened and Hunter appeared.

"You made it."

She nodded, entering inside, "What was so important? I was in the middle of something."

He closed the door, "Sorry to pull you away from your busy schedule." he sarcastically responded.

"Care to explain?"

Hunter rolled his eyes and headed towards the living room in front of him, sitting on the couch. Tori walked past a table, glancing down to see a folder. Thinking nothing of it, she headed towards the couch also and sat down next to him.

"I know who killed Dustins' father." He began.

She raised her eyebrows, "Really? Who?"

"There's this guy name Victor Swan, a really great Thunder graduate." He explained, "He was the one involved in the cause of the accident."

"How do you know? Is their evidence?"

"No not yet." He scratched his head, "I haven't gotten that far. I've known this for a while but.."

"Wait." She interuptted him, "This whole time? This _whole _time, you knew about this and didn't tell us?" Her tone grew skeptic and angry at the same time/

"I couldn't!" He responded quickly, "Dustin was jumping off the walls over all this and I felt like giving him this news would send him over the edge. And the fact that I have no proof didn't help either."

"Okay." She trailed off, "Say if he was the murderer. Why would he do it? Or better yet, how did you tangle with a guy like him?"

"I was contacted a few months ago by him and he informed me of information of my real parents, but I had to do something for him first. When I was picking something up, Dustin's father's car accident happened. I saw Van do it. I saw him there. He left quickly and I chased after him."

"Why didn't you take him down!?"

"He's a top elite thunder ninja Tori." He pointed out, "And the fact that he holds evidence against me to frame me, if I do, he will try to pin it all on me. And I'm not in the mood to go to jail anytime soon. Never actually."

Tori sighed, looking away. The whole thing sounded a bit skeptic, she wanted to believe him as a friend, but something didn't feel right. There were some flaws in the story, and things didn't make sense. She didn't know what to do.

"Okay." She just responded, "Look, let's find Cam and Shane and even Blake and discuss about this. Maybe we can clear your name and avoid any possibility of framing."

"As long as you leave Dustin out." He added, "If he knows, he'll just jump to conclusion."

"Deal." She stood up, "Let's get going."

--------

Dustin exited out of the building, the detective he was looking for wasn't event here. It angered him that he couldn't get any answers, he looked at his watch and checked to see if Tori was around. Figuring she was off doing whatever she needed to do, he decided not to bother her and go visit Hunter who was the closet from where he was. Dashing down the street, he past a few blocks, stopping occasionally to look at things and get his mind off everything that has been happening. Finally arriving at the apartment, he looked up and headed in and up the stairs. Knocking on the door, he waited for it to answer. Seconds past and noone answered the door. Turning the knob, he noticed it was unlock and peaked his head in.

"Hello!?" He shouted.

Widening the door, he entered the room and took a look at the empty apartment. Hunter must had taken a step out, Dustin walked a bit and looked down at the folder on the table. Curious of what it was, he opened it and pulled out the pictures. He squinted his eyes, recognizing the car and noticing Hunter in it.

"What.." He whispered.

He shuffled through each one, faster and faster, not believing that Hunter never told him he was there. He jumped as the ringing of the phone began, putting the pictures down, he walked over and waited in front of the answer machine.

Hey it's Hunter, I'm not here right now but leave a message and I'll get back to ya.

Hello Hunter, it's Van. Just congratulating you on your second murder. I do say you're getting the hang of it all. I hear Mrs Brooks didn't even put up a fight. Hope to hear from you soon. Later.

Dustin froze, he repeated the whole message in his mind. His breathing began to get heavier. He grabbed the message machine and pulled it out of the wall, throwing it across the room. It smashed into a nearby lamp, as Dustin screamed at the top of his lungs. He grabbed his hair and slide down against the wall, his mother now gone too made things a whole lot worst. Ending things on bad terms, pushing her away was the wrong thing to do. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his knees, trying to keep himself from screaming some more. His own anger was too much even for him. He stood up, breathing heavily, breathing loudly. He looked around, wiping his watery eyes as he began to throw things around the room. Knocking things off the counter.

"Goddamn you Hunter!" He screamed, "I'll get you for this!!"

He kicked over the chair, grabbing a lamp and smashing it against the wall. He tripped and fell, rolling over and continuing to scream. He ran his hands over his face, fighting back the tears but they were to hard. It seamed harder and harder to stop the tears everytime, everything was too much for the carefree happy personality to counter. Mother Gone. Father Gone. Hunter's betryal. It's enough to send anyman over the edge.

--

End chapter. Hope you're enjoing this! I know I'm making Dustin cry alot, but I feel in these kind of situation that's what anyone would do! Well normal people anyway. Hope this is getting good..


	5. Night Of A Thousand Tears

A/N: I'm sorry. I made a mistake. Those last two chapters took place 2/3 days ago. Not 2 weeks ago. Hope that doesn't confuse you.

**Chapter 4: Night of Thousand Tears**

"So what is our plan of action now?" Cam crossed his arms, "This seams like a big problem."

Hunter and Tori had sought the aide of their fellow comrades, Shane, Cam, Blake, Tori and Hunter all stood in the middle of the wind academy courtyard. The sun had sunk below the earth about an hour ago, and Hunter had explained his side of the story. Some of them believed him, others were a bit skeptic. Especially Blake.

"Why would he help me?" Blake stood up from the bench, "And then frame my brother. That makes no sense at all."

"He's obviously deceiving you." Hunter pointed out, "You actually going to believe him over your own brother?"

"I don't know." He trailed off.

Tori forced a smile and jumped in the middle, "Okay, well it's getting late. Let's just go home and work this out."

"Weren't you suppose to pick up Dustin?" Shane asked.

She smacked herself in the head, "Oh..my..god. I comepletly forgot." She muttered, "Wait though.. He hasn't called me."

Cam began to walk off, turning a bit, "I'll do some research." He informed them, "Hunter, swing by tomorrow alright?"

Hunter nodded, "Cya!"

Tori tugged Hunter as, she, Shane and him headed towards the van. Blake waved to them, before he ninja streaked back to Factory Blue and whatever he was doing. Hunter climbed into the passenger seat and sighed, looking out the window.

"Hey." Tori leaned forward and placed her hands on his shoulder, "We'll figure this out."

"Not even my own brother believes me." He sounded really upset.

Shane got into the back and Tori began to drive off. The three of them remain silent throughout the car ride, as Tori drove towards Hunter's apartment building. Arriving in front of it, Hunter waved to them and climbed out. He didn't notice his wallet slipping out, he closed the door and dashed inside. Shane threw himself into the van and the two of them began to drive off again. Walking up the steps, Hunter entered his apartment and flicked on the lights. Looking around, he noticed his apartment completely trashed. He could hear the T.V echo in the background.

"What the hell!?" He looked around, "Oh no.." He groaned.

He walked through the mess and bent down in the middle of his living room, at all the pictures that Van had given him. He closed his eyes, realizing the one person that had trashed his room. Standing up, the lights flicked off and his message machine began to play.

Hello Hunter, it's Van. Just congratulating you on your second murder. I do say you're getting the hang of it all. I hear Mrs Brooks didn't even put up a fight. Hope to hear from you soon. Later.

Closing his eyes, he replayed the message inside his head. He then snapped open and turned around to see Dustin standing next to the answer machine with a gun. Moving backwards a bit.

"Dustin." He grew a bit nervous, "Where did you get that gun."

Dustin moved forward, his hand was shaking. His hold body was shaking in anger and rage.

"It doesn't matter." He muttered, "It really doesn't matter at this point."

"I didn't do it!"

The brunette wouldn't listen, he knew he was lying as he watched Hunter take another step back. Looking at the clock to see it almost strike 11.

"Dustin." He slowly put his hand up, "Please don't do this. You're making a grave mistake."

"All this time I thought you were my friend." The brunette's voice cracked at each word, "You bastard."

"Dustin." Hunter tried to reason with him, "The radio. The speech. What about everything you said. You know I wouldn't do this to you."

"This was before I found the truth!" He screamed over his voice, "You killed my father! You lied to me! All this time, it was you!" He took a few steps forward and loaded the gun, "And now you will pay."

----------

Shane glanced down on his seat and noticed the wallet. Tori was driving slowly as he picked it up and glanced at it. Looking back at her, she began to slow down more.

"He forgot his wallet didn't he?"

Shane nodded, "Pull over. We can quickly run it to him. Save some time."

"I wanna come with you." She parked the car, "I actually have a question to ask him."

The two of them climbed out and dashed down the street and around the block. They neared the apartment when they heard gun shots. Glancing at each other. They quickly bolted past a few people and up the stairs of the building. Bursting through the door, Tori screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Oh my god." She buried her face, "No! Shane, please tell me this didn't happen."

Shane remained speechless as he looked at the scene in front of him, in the eyes of the one that was holding the gun.

"We were too late." He whispered, "Why did you do it!?" He screamed at him.

Dustin spun around, tears and anger in his eyes, "He killed him!" Dustin pointed to the body on the ground, "He killed my Father! He killed my mother!"

Tori let go of Shane and screamed at him, "It was never him you idiot!" Her voice cracked, "He was there to stop it! Not to kill him!!"

Dustin loaded the gun and pointed to his head, "It doesn't anymore. What's done is done."

"Wait no!" The two of them chorus, "Don't do it Dustin!" Shane shouted, "It wasn't the right thing to do before, it isn't now!"

"There's nothing else to live for!" He screamed.

"What about us!?" Tori took a step forward, "What about us!?" She repeated.

Shane grew angry, he lunged forward at him. Dustin quickly withdraw the gun from his head and fired it at Shane. The bullet pierced Shane's shoulder, as it caused him to spin and hit the ground. Tori screamed at again, bursting into tears.

"I love you.." He whispered.

"Then.. Then why are you doing this?" She said through each tears, creeping forward, "Why..?"

Shane groaned in pain, as he laid on the floor. Looking up he watched as Dustin crept towards the window.

"Hold on!" Tori put her hand up, "Don't go please!"

"Goodbye Tori." He whispered.

Tori watched as he threw himself through the window. Screaming, she ran past Shane and towards the broken window, looking down. Shards of glass laid all over the ground, but Dustin's body was no where to be found. Looking back up, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Dustin!" She said through each burst of tears, "Dustin!!!"

Shane pushed himself towards Hunter, and tried to wake him up. Three shots were fired on him. One in the leg, one in the stomach and one in the shoulder. He looked up to Tori, who was still looking out the window.

"Tori!" he screamed to her.

She spun around, droplets of tears hit the ground. Running over, she helped Shane up, and held Hunter in her arms.

"Call 911!" She screamed. He nodded and ran towards the phone, picking it up, "Please don't tell them who did it.." She also added, "Not yet.."

He turned, "Are you crazy!?"

"Please.. Not yet.."

He signed and dialed 911, "This is an emergency." He turned and began to speak in the phone.

Tori held onto Hunter, rocking him a bit. He was unconscious, barely alive. She hugged him tightly, wishing hard that this night had not happen. Shane hung up the phone and the sound of sirens began to echo at night. The former red ranger walked over and bent down, putting his hand on Tori's shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

Minutes past, and the police and ambulance arrived at the scene. The colorful siren lights shined through the window and onto the walls as the door bursted open once more. Medics rushed through, Tori backed away and stood there watching as they took away Hunter. Looking around, everything felt like slow motion. A rush of shock and pain flowed through her. She covered her mouth, looking around at the mess. Watching as they took Shane away to treat his wounds. The police officers scattering throughout the room. Voices echoing in her head. She fell to the ground only to be picked up by an officer.

"I need you to come with me." He asked.

A medic stepped in, "She's traumatized. I better take her first." He suggested.

He tugged at her as she willingly followed. They went down the stairs, and outside. Crowds civilian watched in horror. Tori turned and watched Hunter laying in the ambulance, before the two doors shut and the vehicle drove off.

"This way." The medic snapped her back to reality, "Please follow me."

--

End Chapter


	6. Undying Past

A/N: Hope this doesn't get to confusing, but here's the next chapter.

**Chapter 5**: Undying Past

****

2 years later

The sun rose high up in the air to greet the day. Tori groaned a bit as she turned over on her bed. Yawning, she sat up and starred into the darkness of the room. Her long blonde hair fell past her shoulders as she forced herself up and stumbled onto the wooden floor. Dragging herself to the window, she lifted the blinds to let the rays of light through. The sound of cars beeping below echoed, ruining the peaceful morning. With 2 years past since that very incident, Tori, at age 21, moved out of the dorm and into an apartment building. She had put her dreaded freshmen college memories behind her and did her best to pass her junior year. Pushing her light blonde hair behind her, she opened the door of her room and shuffled through the hall and towards the bathroom. Passing a small stand against the wall, she stopped and picked up a picture frame. Smiling, she slide her fingers across the glass. There in the picture was her, Shane, Hunter, Blake, Cam and Dustin. They were at the beach, all smiling, all having a good time and waving to the camera. Stopping to stare at Dustin, she closed her eyes and put the picture down. Opening the bottom drawer of the stand, she pulled out a crinkled piece of paper and opened it, rereading it for the millionth time.

Tori

I don't know how to tell you how sorry I truly am and this is the hardest thing I have ever done. I have pulled myself away from Blue Bay Harbor, far away, where no one can find me. _College is the least of my importance right now, I'm seriously beginning to lose it. That detective that I talked to at the graveyard, he told me that Hunter had nothing to do with it. I just wish I found him sooner. I hope he is doing okay, and I hope he accepts my apology. I wish I could do this in person, but I feel that we shouldn't see each other anymore. Tori. I love you to death, and the thought of me doing something so stupid again forces me to do this. I couldn't live with myself if something were to happen to you and it was my fault. I lose my mother, I lost my father. The only person I have left for family is my sister. I can't stop till I find her. I'm going to tell her everything. Maybe some alone time will clear my head, I don't know anymore. I'm confused and I'm sick of shedding these tears everyday. Man, being a ranger was far easier then doing this. Good bye Tori, please be happy. Please don't worry about me. _

. 

Tori looked at the date, the letter was written three days after Hunter was shot. She closed the paper and stuffed it back in the drawer. Wiping her eyes a bit, she coughed a bit and turned towards the bathroom. Entering, she turned on the water, stripped herself from her clothes and let the warm droplets hit against her skins. Cleaning herself up, she did her best to try not to think about it all. It had been so hard, even 2 years after it all. She could never forget it all. That last night she saw him, saw the pain in his eyes.

---------

2 Years ago (3 days later after incident)

"Dustin stop it!" Tori screamed.

She stood on the roof of the Saran Towers as she watched Dustin and Van fight each other. The wind howled past her, she stood there helpless near the edge as the two of them went at each other. Hunter was still in the hospital, he was recovering from the gun shots that Dustin so mistakenly fired on the wrong person. The past few days had been hectic, Tori did everything she could to stop Dustin from coming here. Hoping he would leave the cops to the matter.

"You killed my family." Dustin screamed as he threw a punch at him, Van swiftly moved out of the way, "You're going to pay."

Van smirked, knocking each attack Dustin threw out at him, all the while laughing, "Pathetic wind ninja. You really think you can come up against me?"

Van grabbed Dustin by the arm, twisting him around and getting him in a lock. Dustin winced in pain, as Van peered over his shoulder and whispered in his ear.

"I will kill you like I killed your mother."

Dustin screamed in rage as he broke himself free and rubbed his upper part of his arm. He began to breath heavily, Van was far more skilled then Dustin could ever match up to.

"Why are you doing this?" Tori screamed out to break the silence, "Why are you so interested in the Brooks!?"

Van rubbed his hands together and smirked, turning to the blonde, "His father owed me a debt, he did not pay me back. I promised I'd take his family out if he didn't. I'm going to keep it that way."

"What did my father owe you?" Dustin muttered. Thousands of questions filled his head, he had to know the truth before he killed the man who caused so much pain, "My father would never do that."

"Then you don't know your father at all." Van responded evilly, "Your father borrowed so much money to start a business. Your father is a determined man. I like that in a business partner, that shows he has compassion and pride in the things he does, but when he starts playing in the big league, he knows where the rules stand."

The rooftop doorway bursted open and Cam and Blake came running out. They stopped to see Dustin and Van in the distant and Tori over in the corner. Running over, the two of them stopped and faced the blonde.

"We came as fast as we could." Cam glanced at the other two, "What's going on?"

"I can't get through." She pointed, "That stupid jerk set up a energy shield. Some invisable energy field."

Blake clenched his fist, and turned at his heal to face Van off in the distant, "You lied to me Van!" He shouted, "Those files were useless. You'll pay for what you did to my brother."

"Your brother signed up to play the game himself, I did not force him. And I was not the one who shot him."

"No, but I know all about the framing plan!" He held up the files, "All the evidence Hunter needed to take you down is right here!"

"Games over." Cam added, "Give it up. You broke the code of a ninja, and you committed multiple crimes."

"He's not going anywhere." Dustin took a few steps forward, "I'm going to get my revenge. Just like I promised."

Dustin charged forward, Van flipped out of the way. The other rangers all grumbled and began shouting at Dustin. They knew he wouldn't stand a chance against a Graduate Thunder Ninja. They watched in horror as Dustin was thrown towards the ledge. Van walked over and picked up the roof antenna, snapping it till it was a long sharp pole. He walked over, Dustin rolled over and groaned. Van lunged with the weapon right towards Dustin face, but the brunette caught it and used his strength to stop it. The blade was inches away from his face.

"Just die." He whispered.

Van pulled away and jabbed it right through his shoulder. Screaming in pain, Dustin felt the cold blade pierce all the way to the other side of his left shoulder. Using whatever man power he had left, Dustin kicked Van in the leg, pulling at his shirt and flipping him over and off the edge. Van screamed as he plummet down towards his death. The energy shield faded away and the three rangers dashed towards the brunette. Tori skidded on her knees and crawled over, helping her boyfriend up.

"Dustin." She held back the tears, "Are you all right?"

"Ugh." He held his shoulder, "Holy crap that hurts."

Cam helped him up and let Dustin used the green samurai ranger as support, "Why the heck did you go off like that?" Cam scolded him.

Dustin groaned a bit,"That detective. He told me everything. I had to make things right."

She smacked him a bit, "You could have been killed."

"I did research on this guy." Blake crossed his arms, looking down from the edge, "Van did graduate from the Thunder Academy, but he wasn't an easy student. He was hardheaded and ruthless when it came to training. He had a knack for diplomatic and negotiation and though there are no evidence. In the past he had, business partners had disappeared off the face of the earth after a few meetings and hook up with this guy. That's how I knew these files were useless."

Dustin ignored all the facts, he just fell to the ground in pain. He let out a small sob, as he clenched the ground.

"There all dead.." He whispered.

Tori bent down, she had no idea what to say to that, "Come on Dustin.. Let's go home."

Dustin pushed himself back up, "No." He walked towards the edge, "I have to find my sister. I have to find if she is alright."

"You mean the one who's a vegetarian?" Cam asked, "I remember you mentioning about her."

"Dustin has a sister?"

"This was after you guys turned good and left." She pointed out.

He breathed heavily, "I'll see you later maybe."

"Wait." Tori begged, "Let us come with you.."

Dustin turned and forced a smile, closing his eyes, a tear squeezed out and down his cheek. He turned and ninja streaked off, the sun began to set. Blake put his hand on her shoulder and rubbed it a bit.

"We'll see him soon."

"I hope.." She whispered, "He seamed so lost in eyes.."

-----------

**Present Day**

Tori climbed out of the shower and cleaned herself up. Getting dressed, she exited the bathroom and into the living room. Grabbing her keys, she looked at another picture set near the door. Opening the door up, Hunter was standing there.

"Hey." He whispered.

Tori brushed her hair out of the way, "Uh hey."

"You ready?"

She closed her eyes, "I forgot. I'm sorry. I can't today Hunter." She informed him, "I have to do something."

She brushed past him and down the hall. A bit confused, he dashed after her.

"What's the matter?"

She turned, "I have to find Dustin."

"Tori." He moved closer, "We got move on. He doesn't want to be found."

"I just." She tried to hold back the tears, "I just think he's still out there. And I think he needs help."

"If he needed help, he would of asked us. He obviously moved on. Doesn't want anything to do with us."

"How could you say that?" She grew angry, "He promised he would come back."

"2 goddamn years ago he said that." Hunter snapped back, "Where is he now!?"

"Oh don't take it out on him just because he shot you." She sneered, "Can you really blame him!?"

"Don't even get me started." He rolled his eyes.

"Look, I know we tried looking for him before. But I have to keep trying. I still love him and I can't wait for him any longer."

"Tori, don't be irrational."

"Quite being a jerk!" She shot back.

Hunter grabbed her by the wrist and shook her a bit, "Listen to yourself." His anger boiled, "Don't be ridiculous."

She yanked away and began storming towards the exit. She stopped and turned to face him, wiping away the tears a bit.

"You know, he was your friend." She whispered, "And he made a mistake. You weren't exactly innocent in the whole ordeal either. And if it means anything to you, he was willing to turn himself in. Tje only reason he didn't was because we stopped him to. Bye Hunter." She spun around and ran out the door.

---

A/N: End chapter. That wasn't confusing right? Anyway, any questions. Ask away. I'll try to get it answered in the next chapter before I start the main problem of the story.


	7. Hurts More Then It Heals

Chapter 6: Hurts More Then It Heals

Tori wondered all over Blue Bay Harbor, she didn't know where to begin to look. There was a very small chance that Dustin was even in Blue Bay at all. The odds were against her, she felt so helpless as the sun beat down on her. Emotionally tired, she dragged her feet across the side walk and sat down at a local café. Placing her light blue bag on the table, she leaned on her elbow and watched the citizens of the city walk up and down the sidewalk. Looking at her watch, it was almost mid afternoon. Cam had walked out of the café, he stopped and glanced at her.

"Tori? What are you doing here?"

She turned to him, "Cam!" She exclaimed, "The one person I wanted to see."

He walked over and sat down, "Something the matter?"

"You know how we tried to scan Blue Bay for Dustin? Do you think you can try like, the whole world?"

"I'd love to, but the console doesn't have that much power to do so. I can see if I can extend the scanning area but it wont be too far."

"He could be anywhere.." She grumbled, "Let's give it a try."

"Well." He stood up, holding his food, "I'll let you know. The console kind of died out on me last night. If you want, you can give me a hand."

She sighed and slumped back down, "No. Just give me a call. I'll search around Blue Bay. Maybe.. Just maybe he moved back.."

Cam nodded, "Alright. I'll leave you to it then. See ya." He quickly left.

Tori groaned and banged her head against the table. A waitress slowly walked by, stopping at her table and looking down at her. Tori covered her eyes from the sun, as she smiled and look back up at her.

"Can I help you dear?" The waitress spoke in a sweet voice, "Would you like me to get you a drink?"

She shook her head, "No.." She muttered, "I'm just resting. I'm trying to find a friend."

She pulled out a picture of Dustin on his motocross. The waitress took a step closer and glanced at the picture and then at her.

"He looks familiar." She tried to think, "Oh he must be that new guy everyone has been talking about recently."

"Really? Where can I find him?"

She shrugged, "I have no idea honey. I don't know much about him. The Fighting Arena is in the southern part of the city."

"Fighting? Arena?"

She nodded, "Yup. My husband was talking about all about this guy once. He showed me a picture. You'll have better luck down there."

"Thank you."

Tori quickly stuff the picture in her bag and dashed out and onto the streets. Heading into an alleyway, she bit her lips and ninja streaked off across the city. In a matter of minutes, she found herself in the south part of Blue Bay Harbor. Appearing out of the alleyway, she held tightly onto her bag and looked around. The southern part of Blue Bay was the slum of the city. The place where people who don't have a lot of money live. She glanced around, there were more criminal activities here then in any other part of the city. The place was dirty, and everything had graffiti and garbage.

"He wouldn't come here." She whispered, "This place is disgusting."

She took a step forward and walked down the sidewalk, passing rag clothed people and stray dogs running around. Stopping in front of a bar, she entered and looked around. The smell of filth and alcohol stung her nose. She wrinkled her forehead a bit and pushed forward towards the bar counter.

"Excuse me." She leaned over, "Can you help me find someone?"

The bartender turned around and smiled at the pretty lady, "Well, don't see much of you kind around here."

"Um yeah, I'm looking for someone." She showed him the picture, "Can you tell me where I can find him?"

"Ah. Rotciv." He stroked his dark black mustache, "One of the best fighters?"

"Did you say Roti what?"

"Some foreign name. It's pronounce Rot-C. The v is silent."

"Weird.."

"Yeah." He responded, "He's new in town. Sort of. From what I hear, he used to live in Blue Bay and left for 2 years. He came back cause of the Arena."

"Do you know where I can find this arena?"

"You'll have to go west from here, follow the street till you find a bunch of advertisement signs in front of a television store. Then take a left and you should see the building. It's not hard to miss."

"Thank you."

Tori turned and began to exit the bar. A bunch of rugged guys stood up from there table and whistled to her. She stopped and gave them a dirty look before proceeding. One of the guys ran up and stepped in front of her, grinning. Tori rolled her eyes as she felt another guy slap her ass.

"How you doing darling." He whispered in her ears.

Tori grinned and turned, bringing his head close, "Let me show you how I'm feeling."

She grabbed him by the shirt and threw him against the wall. She then ducked from an incoming punch and roundhouse kicked the guys down. Picking one of them up, she threw him out the door and grinned innocently at them all. Skipping out, she stepped on the guy she threw out and looked around. Clearing her bangs, she sighed. This place was giving her the creeps, she had to get out of here fast. Scurrying down the road, following the direction, she found the Arena. A large circular dome stood in front of her.

"When the heck did they build this place?" She glanced around, "I never heard of this."

She walked over to the gate, the place was closed and locked up. Kicking the bar gates, she spun around and muttered.

"Great.. Now what.."

Bolting forward, she stepped in front of a couple was walking by. Pulling out the picture quickly, she pointed at it.

"Do you know where I can find this guy? The arena is locked. Please, if you know anything."

"You can find him at the old apartments." The women responded, "I've seen him go in and out of there before."

"It's right down the street." The man added, "You can't miss it. It's the oldest building in the city."

Tori nodded and let them pass. Feeling one step closer, she walked down the street and noticed a man in a red sweater standing in front of the building. Realizing who it was, she was about to call it out to him, but he entered the building. Following, she entered the old building and looked around. The wood floors were rotting, the rails of the stairs were broken. She hesitated before walking up, hearing a pounding on the next level.

"Shane?" She called out as she made it to the next floor and looked down the hall, "Is that you?"

Shane took a step back and turned, "Tori. What are you doing here?"

She moved towards him, "I can ask you the same thing."

"Cam got his computer working. He tried calling you."

"Oh."

She moved her hand forward and placed it on the door nob. Shane placed his hand on hers, turning to her. She looked up at him with such concern.

"You do know, the moment we walk in here, we might see a totally different person." He informed her, "You sure you want to do this?"

"I missed him. I can't wait another second." She replied.

She turned the knob and the door slowly opened. The two of them walked inside the room, clothes were everywhere. The bed was half broken, the drawers were sticking out of the dresser and the mirror was smashed in. Garbage and needles were everywhere. Tori placed her hands on her mouth and stayed close to Shane.

"Who's there?"

Tori and Shane turned to see someone stumble out of the bathroom. Tori tried not to scream, as she watched him nearly fall. He used the side of the door as support, lifting up his head to look at them. Knowing it was Dustin, they stood idly as he ran his hand through his long curly hair. It seamed he hadn't cut it for weeks, or perhaps years. He was wearing beige shorts, with yellow briefs sticking out on the top. Wearing no shirt, they could see the scars and bruises all over.

"What are you doing here?" He muttered angrily, pushing himself up and walking towards the bed, "Better yet, how did you find me?"

"Dustin." Tori took a step forward, "Oh..my.." She was so speechless.

Dustin brushed his hair out of his face, rubbing his hands across his face. Blood shot and heavy eyes, it was hard to look at him. Not even Shane could say anything, he stayed close to Tori and remained silent.

"You left College and all that for this?" Tori took up the courage to speak once more, "Why?"

"It's just how things turned up." He began to pick up some of the mess, "You just deal."

"Dustin. Come back home." Shane pleaded, "This isn't your life."

Dustin picked up the lamp on the table and threw it at the wall. The glass shattered and echoed in the room, he turned and glared at them, "This isn't my life!?" He screamed, "Look around, it sure hell looks like it."

"You can do better then this." He did the best to keep his voice from cracking, "Just come on. You been gone long enough."

"Dustin I missed you!" Tori screamed, moving towards him, "I waited 2 years for you, you promised you'd come back! Here you are, let's pick up where we left off."

He grabbed her arm and sneered at her, "I hate to tell you, but Dustin died along time ago. Along with that promise."

"Back off." Shane pushed him back, pulling Tori close, "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"What is the matter with me?" He restated the question sarcastically, "You're the ones who are barging back into my life. I was doing fine without you!"

Tori picked up a bunch of needles on the table, "Yeah you sure hell are doing fine." She threw them at him, her tears began to fall, "You've changed so much. Why are you doing this to yourself!? Why Dustin!? Why!?"

"Cause I want to!" He screamed, pulling at his hair, "What I do, is none of your concern. I fight to make money, I like the feeling of what these drugs do." He picked up a needle and pointed at her, "And no one in the goddamn world is going to stop me."

"What is this Rotciv, people been calling you? Rotciv? Victor? Are you trying to prove something?" Shane was getting more irritated, "Do you think this is what your mom or Dad wants?"

"There dead." He turned, "We'll never know how they really felt. My Mom's dead. My sister's Dead. My Father. And that fucking murderer." He cringed, clenching his fist, "There all dead. Nothing much to do with my life."

Tori took a step forward, she couldn't keep the tears back, she slapped Dustin across the face hard, the sound echoed, "I don't know you anymore. You had so much going for you, I can't believe your throwing it all away. Us away. Your friends away."

She turned and bolted out in tears. Shane closed his eyes, cringing at the emotional pain that Tori was feeling.

"Get the hell out of here." Dustin crossed his arm.

Shane kept his anger calm, he took a step forward till he's inches away from him and with the most calm and sincere voice, he began to speak, "You're my best friend. I'm not giving up on you, not by a long shot."

"You know, you don't seam to get it!" Dustin leaned forward, screaming in his face.

"NO!" Shane roared, "You don't get it." He pushed him back, "You're too caught up in your pain to realize that your hurting everyone around you. Snap out of it before you kill yourself!"

"Or what!?" Dustin sneered, "You going to drag me away and lock me up!?"

"If I have no choice. I will." He responded, "I will bring you down. I will go that far."

"Of course. That's your answer to everything. If Dustin goes crazy, lock him up!" He turned and spoke sarcastically, "Who gives a crap!? As long as its out of my hands. Right Shane?"

"You know why we did that in the first place. You needed help. And obviously, you haven't learned one bit. How are we suppose to help you, if you don't let us!?"

"I don't want you to! I don't want anything to do with you! Go away! Leave!" He began screaming, "Get the hell of my life! Go! Now!"

Shane began to breath heavily, he slowly turned and began to leave. Closing the door, he walked over to Tori who was leaning against the wall crying. Pulling her close, he hugged her tightly. Dustin pulled at his hair, screaming at the top of his lungs. He bent down and picked up whatever he could and threw it across the room. Stumbling around, he crept screaming. The sound could be heard all around, catching everyone's attention near the building. Dustin fell to the ground, and crawled against the wall, curling himself in a ball and burying himself in his knees.

Tori broke away from Shane and looked up at him, "Oh Shane, why is this happening?"

"I'm sorry."

--

End Chapter. Hope you enjoying it so far.


	8. Crimson Flare

A/N: Thanks for the review(s)!!!

**Chapter 7:** Crimson Flare

Shane and Tori entered Storm Chargers, the two of them had left Dustin's apartment an hour ago. Looking to their left, they found Hunter and Blake standing near the bikes and talking. The blonde forced a smile and headed towards them.

"Blake?" She glanced at them, "Your back."

"Not for good." He responded, crossing his arm, "I came back cause I heard you found Dustin?"

Shane rolled his eyes, "Not exactly a nice guy anymore."

"Can you blame him?" The navy ranger smirked, "He did go through a lot."

"How long is he going to keep this up?" Hunter muttered, "He needs to learn to move on."

"Give him a break. He did lose his parents."

"So did we." Hunter snapped back, "And I didn't throw all my friends out of my life."

"If I don't recall,you did hold onto the Gem of Souls, hoping to see them again." Tori pointed out, "And people take things differently. Stop being so rude."

"I'm being rude?" He took a step forward, "I'm sick of his whining bullshit. I can't help it if I come out sounding rude."

"What's your problem dude?" Shane pushed him back, "That's my friend your talking about."

"He's my friend too." Hunter corrected him.

"Oh yeah, you certainly been acting like his friend. You created this arrogant jerk of an attitude ever since he shot you."

"What do you expect?" The two shades of red began to feud with each other, "He nearly killed me. I don't care if it was an accident, if I was his friend he would have trusted me."

"The evidence pointed towards you." Tori interuptted the conversation, "Hell, I thought you did kill his father. It was an easy mistake, he fooled us all."

"And we got rid of Van." Blake spoke afterwards, "There should be no problem. The only thing we can do is be supportive and patient."

"By the way, did you figure out if your parents were still alive?" Tori decided to change the subject, "How accurate was that report Van gave you?"

"Not so accurate." Blake shrugged, "I got a real report down at the police station. And from Sensei Amino."

Hunter groaned and stormed off. The others turned and watched as he slammed open the door and exited quickly. The crimson blonde quickly ninja streaked off and towards the south part of Blue Bay. He decided to give his shot and knocking some sense back into Dustin. He looked around, totally lost. Never been in this section of the city, he pulled out his crimson power disc and talked into it.

"Hey Cam. Can you give me the location of where Dustin is?"

"Hunter." Cam's voice responded, "He's still in his apartment. South from your location, shouldn't miss the building. It's the oldest one in the city."

"Thanks man."

Hunter put away the communicator and began walking a bit more. Moving around the corner, he spotted the building and sighed deeply. Taking a deep breath, he entered the building and walked up the decaying wooden steps. Knocking on the door, he took a step back.

"Screw off!" A voice inside echoed, "I'm busy for god sake! Leave me alone, I told you!"

Hunter kicked open the door and found Dustin sitting on his bed with a needle in his hand. Dustin looked up, tossing the needle aside and walking towards him.

"Are you deaf Hunter." He jumped down his throat, "I said go away."

"Hello to you too." He muttered.

Dustin walked past him and looked out the hall before closing the door. Turning, Dustin moved past him once more and back towards his bed, cleaning the place up a bit.

"What do you want? Tori and Shane already came by an hour ago." He informed him, "I don't know what _you_ have to say that they already haven't."

"How bout you stop being such a baby." Hunter smirked, "Did they tell you that? How bout stop being so dumb. So stupid. Why don't you stop crying and try a little harder." Words flew out of his mouth, "Did they tell you that?"

"Well, aren't we honest today?" The brunette grinned, "Did that gun shot wound do something that made you so honest now?"

Hunter sarcastically laugh, "Good one Dustin." He shot back, "Your jokes are as bad as your situation." He gave fake smile, "You have no idea what you are throwing away."

"No." He moved forward, "You have no idea what I'm saving myself from. Understand that I don't want to listen to you. Back off before I shoot you again or something."

"Your threats aren't going to do anything." He snarled, "Just admit that your family is dead. Move on!!!"

"Fuck you!" Dustin try to throw a punch, Hunter moved out of the way. The brunette hit the wall, screaming in rage, "I hate you! Leave me alone."

Tears began to form in his eyes as Hunter moved in and spun him around. Hunter grabbed him by the hair with both of his hands and he forced the brunette to look at him.

"Look what you're doing to yourself." Hunter roared, "This isn't the Dustin I became friends with."

"I don't care!" He bursted into tears, closing his eyes and trying to break himself from his grip, "I don't care about anything." He broke the grip and fell to the floor, "I don't care if I live. I don't care if I die. I don't care!" He screamed.

Hunter picked him up and slammed him against the wall, wrapping his hand around his throat and began choking him, "You want to die!?" Hunter screamed, "Fine! Allow me to do it!!"

The crimson blonde began to tighten the grip as Dustin did the best he could to free himself. The sound of the brunette trying to breath began to get louder. More tears began to flow, as he started to slowly give up. The door bursted open and Blake entered, looking over to see what his older brother was doing.

"Hunter!" He shouted.

Blake ran over and grabbed Hunter, tossing him aside. Dustin fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Bending down, Blake checked if he was all right before looking up at his brother.

"What the hell do you think your doing!?"

Hunter was breathing heavily. He looked at his hand, at what he nearly did. Closing his eyes, he turned at the heal and stormed out of the room without a word. Blake turned back to Dustin, putting his hand on his back.

"You alright man?"

"Go." He said between breath, "Just leave me alone please."

He nodded, "All right."

Dustin laid there as he watch Blake quickly leave, closing the door behind him. Leaning his head against the wall, Dustin calmed his breathing, wiping away his tears. He turned, trying to comprehend everything that just happened. During that whole event, he felt the whole world slipping between his fingers. He felt scared of death, even after all these months of not caring if his life would end. It helped him realize, but it made him so confused. He tugged at his hair and buried himself in his knees.

-----------

Blake ran out of the building to catch up with his brother. Hunter was standing at the edge of the sidewalk, lost in thought.

"What the heck were you doing?" Blake snapped him out of reality, "What is your problem?" He spun hm around.

"I don't know." He snapped back, "I don't know what I was doing."

"You were trying to kill him!" He stated the obvious, "Are you insane."

"I didn't mean too."

"There's helping and there's hurting."

"I know!" He grew frustrated, "I realize that. I can't.. I can't."

"What is with you?"

"I just think he's making a big deal of losing his parents." Hunter muttered, "I know its bad that he did. But its been 3 years almost."

"It took us forever to move on when we lost our parents." He pointed out, "Maybe not as long, but you have no right to force someone to move on when they are ready. That's how they snap."

"So what are suppose to do?"

"We wait." Blake crossed his arm, "We wait when he's ready. Even if it takes another year. What else can we do?"

"I'm such an idiot." He groaned, "I was just so angry. I thought Dustin could understand us, cause we know what its like to lose family. But his arrogance, his way of going about things just fuels my rage. How he jumped to conclusion, shot me and then left us worrying for all this long."

"We can't change what has happened. We just have to make sure we don't lose a friend in a future."

"You're right."

--

End Chapter. Read and Review!


	9. Keeping The Faith

**Chapter 8**: Keeping The Faith

2 Month later, Christmas Eve

Night had dawn upon the City of Blue Bay, but darkness was far from seen throughout the city. The place was lite up and dazzled by colorful Christmas lights and the city people were scrambling for their last minute shopping. Snow began to fall gracefully towards the ground, as the brunette looked out the window. 2 months without seeing his friends, Blake and Hunter were the last people he saw before he cut them out of his life. No more visits. No more run ins. It was like they had abandoned him, or maybe it was because he purposely avoided them when he sensed them close. Whatever the reason, he sure felt more alone then ever. Looking up at the half silver lite moon, he leaned his head against the glass and felt the coldness touch his forehead. Christmas Eve, a time to spend with your family and friends and he's rotting in the worst building that could fall apart at any minute. Turning, he rubbed his arms together, feeling a cold draft rush in. His room was dark, and messier then ever. He moved to the bed and sat at the edge, starring at the half-cracked mirror in front of him. His clothes were dirty and tattered, his hair was a mess. He was just plain awful.

"I need to go for a walk." He muttered to himself.

Standing up, he moved towards the dresser and pulled out a tattered grey and yellow sweatshirt. Pulling it over him, he put up the hood and walked towards the door. As he exits the building, he placed his hands in the pouch of the sweater, feeling the cold air embrace his skin. Shivering a bit, he trotted through the snow, the flakes began to fall a bit more. The clock struck 7, and Dustin wasn't sure how far he had walked. It had been an hour and half since he left the apartment, he wounded up in the better half of the city. In the residential neighborhood. Looking around, he recognized the place. Rubbing his hands to stay warm, he began walking down the side walk. A Blue house at the end of the street was spotted, Dustin had his eye on it as he got closer. Stopping in front of it, he noticed the Christmas tree in the living room. Colored lights wrapped around the branches, candles in each window. He stepped forward towards the stairs. Walking up, he turned and noticed a blonde enter the dining room. Tori had a smile on her face, she was dressed in a pretty light blue cashmere sweater. Sitting down at the end, her mom and dad appeared. The three of them were all laughing and smiling so happily. Then Tori's sister came into the picture and the 4 of them sat down. He crossed his arm together to keep warm, the scene in front of him made him envy of the good times he once had. He closed his eyes and shed a tear before turning to walk down the steps. Deciding it was best not to intrude at a time like this.

----------

"Would you like to give me a hand in taking out the turkey?" Mrs Hanson asked inside of the house, "It smells really good."

Tori looked up from her dinner plate, she just smiled and shook her head, "Actually, Lily wanted to help. Let her" She responded.

Tori looked back down at her empty plate. She heard creaking of the wood panel, she knew someone was on the foot step. Standing up, she put her napkin on the table and began walking out of the dining room and towards the front door. Opening it, the colds breeze pierced through taking away the heat of the room. She stepped outside and looked out to see Dustin just about to walk onto the lawn.

"Dustin?" She whispered, "Is that you?"

Dustin froze, he sighed deeply and slowly turned to see her standing at the edge of the porch, "Hey Tori.." He whispered back.

She bolted down the steps and through the snow, throwing herself at him. He caught her and the two embraced a hug that seamed to last forever. Dustin stood there, as if he had forgotten the good feeling. As if it was all new to him. She broke away and forced a smile.

"I.. I was just in the neighborhood." He cracked at each word.

Tori grabbed both of his hands and held them tightly, "Please. Come inside. Have dinner with us."

"I don't know." He tighten his grip on her, he didn't want to let go but he was unsure if he wanted to go in, "I just.."

"Please." She pleaded, "Just for dinner."

He sighed deeply, inhaling the cold air around him, "Okay.." He trailed off.

She pulled him inside, Dustin felt the warmth for the first time in the longest. The rest of the family appeared in the room as Tori pulled off Dustin sweater and hung it on the coat rack. She then grabbed his arm and turned towards her family.

"Mom. Dad. Lily. Dustin's here. You remember him, he use to come over all the time back in middle school."

Mrs. Hanson smiled and clasped her hand, "Ah Dustin." Her voice sounded soothing, "It's so good to see you again."

"Hey chap." Mr. Hanson added, "You joining us for dinner? The main meal just came out of the oven."

"Turkey!" 11 year old Lily exclaimed, "It's really good!"

Dustin felt so out of place. It was so hard to force a smile, he just showed a bit of teeth, still scared of this ancient territory he was walking through. Tori pushed him into the dining room and grabbed a chair for him to sit on the end. Mr and Mrs Hanson entered the kitchen to grab the Turkey they had been eagerly waiting for. Sitting down, Dustin looked around at the beautiful decorations in the room. He hadn't been here for so long, many things have been moved around. He turned his attention to the door of the kitchen, he could hear the voices from inside.

"He doesn't talk much now does he?" Mr. Hanson's voice echoed, "Last time we saw him, he was bouncing off the walls."

"Oh hush." Mrs. Hanson responded, "He's still the same boy I remember."

"Come on! He must be starving!" Lily's voice echoed afterwards, "Let's get the food out!"

Dustin leaned on the table, as the door swung open and Mr Hanson came out with a giant turkey. Tori and Lily moved the mash potatoes and other things for the Turkey. The family then sat down and looked at each other. Dustin remained silent, glancing at Tori's family before looking down at his lap.

"So who wants to say grace?" Mrs. Hanson folded a napkin on her lap, "Dustin? Do you want to?"

Dustin looked up, he tried to say no but the words wouldn't come out. He just glanced at them all, feeling really out of place. Tori could tell, she coughed a bit and looked towards her mother.

"I want to." Tori insisted, "I wasn't able to last year."

"All right." Mr. Hanson responded, "Take it away."

Tori folded her hand and looked down at the table, "Today I am thankful for this meal for this is a special day for all of us. As I glance around this room, I realize how happy I am with the people I have around. My family, who I love to death and my friends. Especially a particular friend, who I care for so much. I wish good health and fortune to everyone in the future."

"That was wonderful." Mrs. Hanson looked up, "Let's begin."

Dustin had zoned out, the words Tori spoke, hit him with each blow. He wished he was able to say those words, only if they were so true. He began to regret coming, he breathed heavily, trying to fight back his tears. Realizing how much he missed his family, even if they weren't perfect, he swallowed his tears and just looked as Tori placed food on his plate. Reaching for some bread, he cut it and began to chew on it. There was complete silence, as everyone grabbed the food they wanted and began eating. The brunette couldn't help but shed a tear, as he began to eat. Sniffling a bit, Lily looked over.

"What's the matter?" Her voice was so sincere and sweet for a 11 year old, "Why are you crying?"

"Hush Lillian." Tori scolded.

Dustin swallowed what he had in his mouth and started to laugh. He had no idea why he was laughing, there was nothing funny. It was that kind of laughter that you do for no reason. Just to feel good, to remind you that maybe everything will be all right. A burst of laughter, for joy had overloaded his system that he couldn't hold it in. At first, Tori couldn't tell if he was laughing or crying, but after seeing his huge smile, she started to laugh to. Laughing is contagious, the whole family began to laugh for no reason. Lily tried to laugh the loudest. Dustin had never laughed so hard, it felt so good. Dinner had past, Mr. and Mrs. Hanson were cleaning up in the kitchen while Tori, Lillian and Dustin were playing monopoly. Mrs Hanson moved towards the door, and listened in on them. Smiling, she turned to her husband.

"I'm so glad he's smiling again."

He nodded, "He's been through a lot. Perhaps we should let him stay the night."

"That's an excellent idea. I will run out and buy some presents for him. No boy should be left out in the celebration of Christmas."

She turned back and watched through the crack of the door.

"1.. 2.. 3" Dustin counted, "I landed on water works. I'll buy it."

"No!" Lily exclaimed, "I was going to buy it!"

Dustin snickered a bit as he handed Tori the money. She gave him the property and rolled the dice.

"Remember that time we played this in Ninja Ops?" She moved her piece, "That whole food fight?"

"You mean when you took the board and hit me with it?" He could never forget, "That was an awesome night."

She nodded, "Oh Park Place!" She exclaimed, "Excellent!"

"No fair." Lily pouted, "I wanted to win."

Tori rolled her eyes and glanced back at Dustin. He just laughed as he crawled over, "I don't know Lily. I think you may already be a winner."

"No I'm not." She muttered.

Dustin picked her up and began spinning her around in the room. Lily screamed through each breath of laughter, flailing her legs.

"No! Put me down!" She exclaimed.

"What!?" Dustin yelled, "I can't hear you!" He moved around the room with her, "Oh no, I think were going to crash!"

"No!" She screamed, "Don't crash! We need to have a safe landing! Land on the couch! The couch!"

Dustin steered and the two of them crashed into the couch laughing. Lily moved and jumped on Dustin, landing on his lap and looking up at him.

"That was fun!"

"That was exhausting." He tried to catch his breath, "But yes, it was fun."

Tori stood up and sat next to them on the couch. Mrs Hanson opened the door of the kitchen and headed towards the coat rack. She grabbed a coat and turned to them.

"I have to go out of a sec." She informed them, "Dustin. You will be staying the night."

"Actually." He sat up from the couch, "I don't think.."

"No buts." She smiled, "You're staying." She turned and exit.

"Uh-oh." Lily snickered, still sitting on his lap, "You're stuck here with us!"

----------

Dustin laid on the couch, the lights in the whole house was finally off and tomorrow was Christmas. He wasn't even sure why he was still there, he had nothing to give to them. He laid there on the couch, looking up at the window and the sky. It was still snowing, it didn't seam like it would end anytime soon. He wish the night had never ended, it was the only thing that kept his mind off on everything. He forgot the pain, and had nothing but happiness inside him as he hung with the Hanson. Now that it is over, every time he thinks about it, he wishes that it was his family he was sharing the joy with. A hand ran across his chest as he turned to see Tori creeping over and climbing onto the couch with him. Moving a bit, Dustin let Tori lay on the edge of the couch and place her head and hand on his chest.

"I'm so glad you're here." She whispered to him, "I really am."

He remain silent, looking back at the night sky. She moved her head and looked up at him.

"Dustin." She said with concern in her voice, "Come on. Don't tell me you didn't have fun tonight?"

"I did." He finally responded, "I never had that much fun in a long time. I never felt so good about myself till last night. It was a night I can never forget."

"You see." She exclaimed, "Why should you push yourself away from us? You can have more nights like those if you just open up and let us in."

"Tori." He begged, "Don't start."

"No Dustin. I need to know." She replied, "I can't keep worrying like this. Not seeing you for all these months. I barely know you anymore, yet I still care for you so much."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." He didn't feel like arguing.

Tori tighten her hold on him and closed her eyes, "Good. I still love you. Merry Christmas." She trailed off and started to drift off to sleep.

Dustin just laid there, letting her fall asleep on him. He too started to drift off to sleep, letting his mind wonder to wherever. The sun began to rise in the morning and Tori groaned a bit. She moved her hand and realized that she was touching the couch. Opening her eyes open, she noticed she was alone on the couch. Turning to sit up, she cleared her blonde hair out of the way and stood up.

"Dustin?" She called out.

She looked down at the coffee table and noticed a folded note. Opening it up, she sat back down and began reading it.

Dear Tori,

Please thank your family for so much they have done last night. And of course, I thank you for everything. I'm sorry I can't stick around to celebrate Christmas, but it is not my Christmas, it is yours. And your family. I do not belong there. You have asked me an important question that night. Why must I keep doing this? All these years, I have lost who I was, and my faith in everything. All the questions I have, and no one to answer them anymore. I never knew the lost of my father would send such a chain reaction, but through each event I suffered through, I begin to question more and more on my values and opinion on life. And for once, I am confused and crazy at each thought that runs through my head. I don't know what to believe anymore, I drowned my self in sorrow to many times that my very identity slipped through my fingers without me noticing. Tell your family Merry Christmas for me.

Tori looked up, she closed the paper and saw her family coming down the stairs, each holding a present.

"Where's Dustin?" Lily asked, "I have his present!"

"He's gone." She whispered, "He couldn't stay..."

---------

Dustin walked back to his apartment, the streets were pretty much empty. Everyone was opening presents or still sleeping. He rushed into the building and opened the door to his room. Closing the door, he turned, his eyes went wide eyed. Taking a step forward, he noticed colored presents everywhere. Stationed all over his room and a giant sign hanging from the ceiling saying 'Merry Christmas.'

"What the.." He whispered to himself.

He walked over to each present reading the tags. There were presents from Cam, Shane Hunter and Blake. Another one was from Marah and Ryan. He turned and noticed one from Kapri, and even Sensei had sent him a present. Kelly also. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply, they weren't giving up so easily. He walked towards a present and ripped it open, seeing a brand new helmet incased in a box. He laughed as he put the helmet on the bed and grabbed another one. Finally, after a few hours had past, he had wrapping sprawled out everywhere. New clothes, items and magazines. There was so much stuff, he loved them all.


	10. Patching Up The Little Things

**Chapter 9**: Patching the little things

Dustin laid on his bed, yawning a bit. A few hours had past since he had opened all his present and he was back being bored and alone again. Groaning, he rolled over and starred off out the window. The snow was still falling, more and more by the minute. A soft tap on the door caught his attention, turning over, Dustin sat up and listened against as it got louder.

"Coming." He spoke out loud, "Give me a sec."

He threw himself off the bed and towards the door, for once he was excited that someone was on the other side of the door. Opening it up, a little girl threw herself at him. Dustin caught her and spun her around, stumbling back a bit.

"Dustin!" She spoke cheerfully, Dustin noticed it was Lily she was holding, "You ran away!"

Dustin bent down and cleared the bangs from her eyes, "Lily, what are you doing here?"

"She wouldn't shut up if I didn't let her come in." Tori appeared at the door with a few presents, "Hey Waldo." She smiled and leaned against the door panel.

Dustin glanced up, grabbing Lily by the hand and leading her towards the door. Pushing Tori and her out, he closed the door and went out in the hallway with them.

"Why are we out here?" Lily grabbed a present from Tori's hand.

Dustin just smiled, "Uh, my room is a little messy. No where to really sit." He scratched his head and glanced at Tori, "So what are you two doing here?"

"Merry Christmas." The tall blonde shoved the presents into his hand, "You left before we could give you these."

Lily lifted hers up, "Here's mine!" She screamed, "I hope you like mine the best!"

Smiling, he grabbed Lily's present and placed it on the rest, setting it down near the door. The awkward silence began to fill the room as the three of them stood around. Tori took a step forward, bending down to Lily's height.

"Hey Lily, can you go wait in the car with mom and dad? I want to ask Dustin something."

Lily nodded and quickly skedaddle down the steps and outside. Tori stood back up, clearing her bangs and looking back at Dustin. He remain silent, feeling a bit out of place but not so much as he usually was.

"Where heading over to Shane's for a Christmas party." She finally spoke up, "Was wondering if you want to go?"

He bit his lips, "I don't know. I don't think it's such a good idea."

She took a step forward, "Please. I would really like you to go."

He sighed and backed away, heading towards the door, "Maybe. There's a few things I have to do first."

"Well if you do, I'll save you a dance." She smiled and walked towards the steps, "Hope to see you there."

He watched from the edge of the steps as she walked down and towards the door. Stopping, the blonde turned and smiled up at him one more time. Dustin felt a warm sensation, he was really happy that she wasn't forcing him to go. Forcing him to come home anymore, that she seamed to understand that he will come back when he was ready. Dustin had all the time in the world, or at least he felt like it was all the time in the world. He grabbed the presents and brought them inside, closing the door behind him. Turning, he shuffled through the mess and towards his dresser. Taking out a piece of paper, he looked down at it. Reading it, it wrote, 'National Cage Fighting Match. Prize: 500 dollars.' Folding the paper again, he grabbed his new sweater he got for Christmas and bolted out the door. Exiting into the cold, he began walking towards the arena. He had to participate in the match, he was running low on money. Stopping in front of the large round arena, he looked up and sighed. The snow fell in his hair, he pushed through the crowed and inside. Tons of people were in the stands, everyone was ready for a good match.

"Hey it's Rotciv!" A man shouted, "He's going to win!"

"Not against the Blue Bay Harbor champion." One whispered to a person behind him, "Rotciv is going down."

He took a deep breath, "Here goes nothing." He muffled under his voice.

----------

Tori and her family had arrived at Shane's home. Cars were parked everywhere in front of the two story white house. Tori climbed out and looked at the red trims that went all around the house, she then turned and watched her little sister run up the drive way.

"Come on honey." Mrs Hanson spoke, "It's cold out here."

Tori began walking up the drive way with her parents. Opening the door, they were greeted by Shane.

"Hey Tor!" He exclaimed, "Come in!"

He moved aside and the family entered. They entered the cozy kitchen where Mrs Clarke, Kelly and Mr. Watanabe were standing.

"Hey everyone." Mr Hanson waved, "Looks like most of the people are here."

Mr. Clarke entered the room with Porter, Shane's older brother, "Hey look who decided to show up." Mr. Clarke laughed.

The parents began to move into the living room as Cameron walked out from it. The former red ranger turned to Tori and him and leaned against the counter. Porter went over to the fridge and grabbed himself a drink.

"So is Hunter and Blake still coming?" Tori looked around, "I don't see them here."

"Hey Shane." His older brother took a sip before placing the glass down, "Where's your other friend." He asked curiously, "Uh what's his name. Dustin?"

"I don't think he's coming." Shane sighed a bit.

"Actually." Tori smiled, clearing her bangs, "He might show up." She grinned, "I stopped by his apartment."

"That's good." Cam responded, "Hey, isn't there another Clarke suppose to be here?" He looked around.

Shane shook his head, "My sister can't make it. She's stuck in the east for Christmas."

"And I was looking forward to meet her." Hunter's voice echoed behind them, "What a disappointment."

Everyone turned around and saw Blake and Hunter walking in. Shane rolled his eyes.

"She's not your type." He replied.

"Nor is she in your league." Tori snickered, "Sorry."

"Funny." He sarcastically responded, giving her a dirty look, "Did we miss anything?"

"We brought some cookies." Blake held up the tray, "Took 3 hours and two tries."

"Yeah, you should have tasted his first batch. It smells like Shane's feet. " Hunter grabbed a cookie and took a bite out of it, "Which is more then I can say."

"I resent that!"

"Hello?" Another voice echoed, along with a knock, "Anyone here? Hope this is the right house.."

Everyone turned to see Marah, Ryan and Kapri standing at the door. They waved and smiled as they rushed forward to greet everyone else.

"You guys made it!" Tori hugged Marah, "I'm glad."

"Weather is getting pretty crazy out there." Kapri handed them a bowl of food, "Good thing we got here just in time.

"Traffic is brutal." Ryan added in, "Anyway. Where's the folks? I wanna see them."

"There in the living room dude." Cam pointed.

"I'll show you." Porter waved Kapri and Ryan along, "Come on."

Marah turned, "Any word from Dustin?" She asked eagerly.

"Ask Tori." Hunter leaned against the wall, "From what I hear, she knows more then anyone else here."

----------

Dustin slammed against the black bars as he twirled his body to dodge an attack. The crowd was cheering as he began to circle the arena cage. He had been fighting for a while now, the champion in front of him was stronger then he thought. Dustin back flipped out of the way from another attack, blood and sweat ran down his face as he backed against the cage. He was tired, exhausted but he couldn't give up. He needed the money, the crowd kept cheering louder and louder for him. He shifted his eyes towards the large man in front of him. The man was wearing a black mask and a black karate outfit. He was one tough opponent, and Dustin hadn't exactly brushed up on his ninja skills.

"Your mine." He shot forward and threw a punch, "Time for you to lose."

Dustin caught the fist in midair, twisted his arm and flipped him over. Dustin then jumped out of the way from a counter attack and hit against the cage. Rolling out of the way, he grabbed the warrior and threw him across and ran forward. Ducking, he threw a punch into the fighter and blocked an attack. The place began to rumble as Dustins' rage began to boil. The fighter began to lose his balance, Dustin took the advantage and dropped kicked him back and against the bars. The fighter fell to the ground motionless.

"And the winner is Rotciv!" The announcer began to scream, "And we have a new champion!"

The referee lifted up Dustin's arm, the crowd continue to scream The fighter stood up, ripping off his mask and revealing his rugged face. Standing up, he stormed towards them.

"You cheated." He shouted, "That prize money is mine!"

"How did I cheat?"

"You shook the ground somehow." He growled, "The money is mine."

"You'll have to pry it from my cold dead body."

"That can be arranged." He turned and stormed off.

Dustin watched as he quickly exited. Sighing he turned back to the crowed and raised his arm and smiled happily at his victory. A half hour had past and he found himself standing outside of the arena. He stuck the new sweater on and looked around. He had nothing to do, he didn't feel like going back to his apartment. He decided he didn't have much to lose, to go and see Tori at the party. Ninja streaking off, it was a matter of minutes before he ended up in front of Shane's house. Breathing heavily, he looked in the window to notice they were all gathered in the living room, near the Christmas Tree. Bitting his lips, he knocked on the side door near the kitchen.

Shane turned, "Who could that be?" He grew curious.

A huge excitement whipped across Tori's face, as she quickly bolted towards the door in the kitchen. Hunter and Blake glanced at each other as they jumped from the couch and after her. Soon, everyone began to flood into the kitchen as Shane walked over and opened the door. Dustin turned around, and starred into the house at the dozens of eyes that were looking at him.

"Oh boy." He muttered to himself, before clearing his throats, "Uh hi."

"Dustin!" Lily screamed, barging through the crowd and towards the door, "You came! You came!"

"Come on in bro." Shane widen the door, "It's freezing outside."

Dustin remain silent as he entered. He glanced around and looked at everyone that was here. They all smiled and waved to him. He forced a smile and waved back.

"Dustin. Your hurt." Mrs Hanson pulled him to the side and looked at his face, "What happened to you?"

Dustin moved away, "Nothing. Nothing I can't fix."

Mrs Clarke turned to Porter, "Sweetie, go get the emergency kit so we can clean his cut."

"All right." He responded.

"Hey, you're a sight for sore eyes." Kelly stepped in, "How have you been?"

He shrugged, "I'm still alive right?"

Mr. Clarke raised his glass and began heading back to the living room, "Anyone who would like to join me may do so."

Mr Hanson laughed, "I'm coming." He moved and patted Dustin on the back, "Nice to see you again kid." He bolted into the room.

Mrs Clarke turned and checked the oven, a nice turkey was being cooked. She had been frantically moving around to get the food all ready. She turned and smiled at everyone.

"Kapri. Marah. Tori." She glanced at each of the ladies, "Would you give me a hand in setting up the table."

"I'll help." Kelly offered, "The food smells wonderful."

"Mom! I can't find the dumb thing." Porter's voice echoed from the stair well, "Where is it exactly?"

Shane rolled his eyes as he turned, "I'll find it."

Dustin watched as he quickly walked off. Turning, he looked away from Hunter, the two of them had not talk since their last incident and it was an awkward silence between the two. Kelly noticed it, she bent down and looked at Lily who was twirling around.

"Honey, wanna go and explore the house?" She smiled, "Let them boys talk?"

"I'll come with you." Blake picked up Lily, "Let's go find those presents."

"Yeah!" She screamed.

The three of them left, leaving Hunter, Ryan and Dustin alone in the kitchen. Hunter walked forward and stood next to him, pouring himself a drink.

"How's it going?" He asked casually.

"Fine." Dustin responded, "And you?"

"Same." Hunter took a sip, "Surprise you're here."

"Surprise your not trying to kill me." The brunette smirked, turning to look at him, "Is there a reason your talking to me?"

"I'm just trying to apologize." Hunter tried to stay patient, "Chill out."

"It's taking a while. Having a hard time?"

"I don't like admitting im wrong. Even if I'm." He patted Dustin on the back, "Nice seeing you again bro."

The brunette in yellow laughed as Hunter walked off with his drink. Turning his neck, he noticed Ryan was still there. His smile faded away.

"What are you looking at?" Dustin growled.

Ryan took a step forward, "Look Waldo, I'm not here to start anything." He spoke, "In fact I came to apologize too. I'm sorry for what I did at the wedding."

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Marah loves you as a brother. If she thinks you're a good person, then I mine as well give you a chance. If I had known that there was something between you two.."

"Forget it." Dustin waved his hand, "Don't worry about it. We all went at this situation the wrong way. I'm over it, I have feelings for someone else."

"So were cool?"

Dustin extended his hand, "Were cool."

The two of them shook, Dustin smiled, he was glad things were looking up. Coming over for the party wasn't a bad idea as he thought it was. Maybe he could get a second chance, try to get somewhere in life. He just had to try. Who would have thought.

--

End Chapter. Last two chapters (or three) will be the final!


	11. The Darker Side of Fate

**Chapter 10: Dark Side of Fate**

Night had fallen and everyone was gathered around the large dinner table. Smiles were seen all around, everyone was laughing and passing out food to each person. Dustin was starving, he grabbed a hand full of everything, talking and joking with Tori. Mr. Clarke coughed, raising his glass. Everyone stopped what they were doing, turning to give their full attention.

"Shall we say Grace?" He smiled, "Who wants to?"

Tori raised her hand, "I'll do it."

"Nah, I'll do it!" Shane spoke after, "Haven't done it for a while."

"Wait." Hunter leaned on the table, "I'll do it. I've never done it ever."

Dustin slowly raised his hand, "Um.. Eh can I do it?" He felt weird asking.

The three of them both turned and looked at him. Mrs Hanson had a bright smile on her face, she turned to Mr. Clarke and nodded. He laughed a bit and jiggled his glass.

"Be my guest Dustin."

He leaned back, placing the glass on the table. Everyone sat back and bowed their heads and placed their hands in their laps. Dustin pushed back the chair and stood up, he didn't want to bow and say it. He wanted to look in everyone of their faces, to see the smiles of everyone who didn't lose hope on him. Everyone raised their head, curious of what he was doing.

"These last couple of years had been the toughest for me." He began to speak, "And I honestly didn't think I would make it out of the tough state I was in. Not a single soul in this room gave up hope did they?" Everyone began to smile, "Realizing this, I had to give a chance and I am so happy that I did. I may have lost family, but I didn't lose everyone. You guys, are my family, my friends." He chuckled a bit, "And I couldn't have this any other way. Thank you for everything."

He sat down and dragged the chair in. Everyone just smiled, there was only silence. This time though, Dustin didn't feel awkward. He felt good.

"Lets eat!" Shane finally spoke, "Dig in everyone. Not every day you try my mom's godly food."

"Oh hush Shane." She laughed.

"It's true." Porter backed his little bro up, "She makes the best Mash Potatoes ever."

"Kelly." Tori turned to her, "Thanks for the present. I found it near the tree."

Kelly nodded, "Take good care of it. That surfboard is vintage."

"It was hard to get Tori out of the house just to get Kelly to sneak it in." Mrs Hanson laughed a little, "But we managed."

"I would have noticed." Tori grinned.

"Well Hunter and I like to say that we bought an apartment." Blake decided to change the subject, "Factory Blue Tour is over. So I'll be in the city more often."

"That's great!" Cam exclaimed, "Im sure Dad can give you work." He shifted his eye to his father.

Mr. Watanabe nodded, "I could use you again."

"That would be cool" Blake nodded.

"Oh you don't want to come back to Storm Chargers?" Kelly was unaware of what they were actually talking about, "I would have hired you again."

"I that be great also!" Blake added, "Uh I like working two jobs." He laughed sarcastically.

Dustin snickered a bit, Blake was being put on the spot and it was amusing him. He took few bites and a sip of his drink before turning to Shane, "I hear your transferring college."

"When was this?" Hunter arched his brows, "Sounds like news."

"That's cause the only person I told was Tori." Shane shifted his eye.

"When were you planning on telling us?" Mrs Clarke was most interested, "Is this a good college?"

Dustin laughed a little, "Sorry Dude, I thought they all knew. She told me sometime during the Monopoly game last night."

"Well I got accepted in University of California. There's an awesome skating park near by and Action Sports Magazine is near by so maybe I can get a few photo shots."

"Sounds interesting." Porter glanced at his parents, "Well, University of California is a very good school."

"That's wonderful." Mr. Clarke cheered, "That'll be great for your studies."

"Have you heard Cam's good news?" Marah leaned and took another bite of her food, "What his plans are?"

"No." Shane turned, "Do tell us."

Cam stopped eating and placed his fork down. He took a deep breath and turned to them, "Well, I was just recruited out East to a business company. They asked me to give a presentation to a new invention, and if I win, I get to be head of the project."

"That's awesome!" Ryan was surprised, "Heard you can make a great profit if you're chosen."

"So Tori." Hunter shifted his eyes towards the blonde, "Since everyone has said some good news. Do you want to share any news?"

She coughed a bit, "Uh." She looked at everyone, "Not really. Im going to try this Surfing Contest in the spring. That's really it."

"Yeah well im starving." Dustin laughed, "So if you don't mind me, im going to dig into more of these awesome mash potatoes!"

An hour or two had past and Dustin and Tori were walking up Shane's stairs to the second floor. She was holding tightly to his hand, stopping as they get half way down the partially lit hallway. She turned to him, looking down a sec before glancing at his eyes.

"I missed you so much." She whispered, "Don't ever do that again."

He pulled her close, kissing her on the head and hugging her tightly. They just stood there in silence, she didn't want to let go of the warm feeling. Backing away slowly, she looked up at him. The two of them kissed, it started out slow and then increased. The two of them backed towards Shane's room and slipped inside.

--------

Two more hours had past and everyone but Tori and Dustin were gathered in the living room. It was getting late and it was time for them to part. Everyone had a wonderful time, each one slowly standing up and yawning loudly. Saying their last jokes and goodbyes before calling it a night. Mrs. Hanson grabbed her coat and slipped it on, turning to look for oldest daughter.

"Tori?" She brushed her hair back, "Has anyone seen her?"

"I'll check upstairs!" Shane bolted up, "Be right back!"

He ran up the stairs and flicked the lights on in the hallway. Whistling, he looked in an open room.

"Tori? Dustin?"

He turned and noticed his door to his room closed. Turning the knob, he walked in and his eyes widen. With fast reflex, he instantly spun around and walked back out, closing the door. He heard footsteps and saw Blake walking up. He glanced around.

"Did you find them?"

Shane bolted forward and stopped at the edge of the stairs, looking at Blake, "There's sleeping. Under my covers." He whispered a bit loudly. Freaking out a bit.

"So go wake them up?" He pointed at the door.

"They're naked." He began walking down the steps, Blake went wide-eye, giving that 'oh' expression, "I don't see them up there." Shane's voice echoed, "I think they went out for a walk. I'll drive her home when they get back."

Blake turned and walked back down the stairs, standing on the last step. Mrs. Hanson nodded and turned to her husband. He was holding Lily, she was fast asleep in his arms.

"It's been great." He spoke, "Hope to see you all again."

"Merry Christmas!" Marah yelled.

--------

The next day had come and the sun was slowly rising through the window. The rays awoke Tori, who groaned and moved a bit. She snapped open and sat up, shaking Dustin. He groaned, being disturbed by his peaceful sleep. He hadn't had a warm bed in a long time and he wanted to savor every bit of the feeling.

"Dustin. Wake up, we fell asleep." She shook him quickly, "We fell asleep in Shane's bed!!"

Dustin sat up, realizing the words she was saying. The two of them quickly got dress, right when the door swung open. Shane popped his head in and noticed they were dressed finally. He entered and shook his head.

"My sheets." He extended his hands in awe, "My poor sheets."

"Shane!" She ran over and hit him, "Why didn't you wake us up!? My parents are going to kill me."

"I told them you went for a walk." He shrugged, "You should be thankful I was around. I had to try everything to convince my parents not to go in my room!"

"Eh sorry dude." Dustin scratched his head, "Lost track of time."

Shane shuddered, "Okay, well lets not talk about it." He patted Dustin on the back, "Glad you stuck around but you two should scram before my parents wake up."

"Bed was comfy." He laughed, "But we'll go. Thanks man, hope to see you later today."

"Hey, swing by later. I got another present from everyone."

"Really?" His face lit up with excitement, "You bet!" 

Suddenly a door shattered in the halls and a sound of gun fire. Shane's jaw drop as the two of them ran out in the hallway to hear screaming and another round of gun shot.

"Mom!" Shane screamed, "Dad!!"

The three of them barged into the room and noticed a man in a leather coat. He was wearing a black ski mask, holding a pistol. He shot up and starred at the stunned teenagers. Tori screamed at the top of the lungs.

"You son of a...!" He began to charge.

The man held up his gun, "Not so fast." He shouted, "Stand back."

Shane stopped, Tori pulled him back, trying to hold onto him tightly. The masked man pulled off his ski mask, revealing a familiar face to Dustin. It was the guy from the Arena, the same guy who claimed that Dustin 'cheated.'

"Well Rotciv." He cocked the gun, "You said over your dead body. So I will kill you and your friends if you don't give me the money."

Tori glanced at Dustin, "What is he talking about? Who is he?"

"Nothing." He turned, "You can't have the money. I spent it all!" He lied, "So get the hell out of here."

The man wasted no time he screamed an, fired a shot right towards Dustin's upper right chest area. He spun and hit the wall before falling to the ground. The murderer let off another round at Dustin, Tori screamed even louder as Shane swiftly moved forward. The man moved and aimed his gun, firing a few more rounds at Shane. He hit the ground, a bullet had hit him in the shoulder. The man then turned the gun around and fired quickly, killing himself instantly. He wasn't about to let himself be locked away in jail for life. The sound of Tori continuing to scream surrounded the room, she fell to the ground, crawling over to Dustin. She tried to shake him, looking over to see Shane breathing heavily. He was looking up at the ceiling, holding onto his shoulder, no emotion on his face.

She felt a hand grab her shirt and she turned to look down at him, "Dustin? You still with me!?"

"I'm sorry." He whispered.

His grip on her shirt lightened and fell to the ground. She shook him, smacking him a bit on the face. He wasn't moving, she turned and saw the bullet wounds. The blood stains began to get bigger on his shirt, one near his chest and the other near the lower side. She held him tightly, she wasn't ready to lose him again...

--  
End Chapter. A Finale! Dun dun dun..


	12. Eternal Scars

**A/N: **Last Chapter of the story. To avoid any confusion, the first two italic flash backs are incidents taken place around or after the prequel 'Far Behind'. So those who haven't read it, that's where the conversations take place. The rest of the italics (Shane's) are from 'The Bitter End' time peroid. Shouldn't be confusing. Enjoy the story!

**Chapter 11: Eternal Scars.**

Tori stood in the bathroom, wearing her long black dress and a hat. Her blonde hair was tucked away behind her. Leaning on the counter, she kept glancing at the mirror, before looking down on a folded piece of paper. It was withered and torn, but she could still read the writing. She shifted her eyes back to the mirror and kept starring in complete silence. Tears began to weld up in her eyes, but she didn't look away. Finally glancing down, she picked up small box and tossed it in the garbage. The door of the bathroom slowly began to open and Marah peaked in. The brunette was unsure of what she was doing, she felt she should interject even if it sounded wrong to do so. Noticing Tori glancing at a little device thing and throwing it out, Marah took a deep breath.

"Tori?" She widen the door, "Are you all right?"

Tori turned and saw Marah standing in a dark outfit. The blonde bursted into tears and moved in to hug Marah tightly. The brunette hugged back, as tightly as she could.

"I'm so sorry." She tried to calm her, "It's okay."

"I miss him so much." Tori responded.

Marah broke away, wiping a tear from her face, "Come on. It's about to start."

Tori nodded, the two of them quickly exited the bathroom and down the hall. Following a red with black designed carpet, they went around the corner and towards a large double brown door. Opening it, dozens and dozens of people were all standing around. As they began to move toward their seats, Tori noticed the casket. It had been a whole week since that incident in Shane's home and the sound of gunfire still haunted her. Marah guided Tori to a seat, the two of them past Hunter along the way. The crimson blonde turned and watched them, before glancing to see Shane standing at the door by himself. He was conveying no emotion, his eyes were locked to the floor. Hunter moved in, walking slowly up to him.

"How you doing?" He whispered.

Shane looked away, he didn't even respond. Hunter looked into his eyes, he could tell there were so much pain and anger in them. It had to be hard to keep it all in. Blake and Cam appeared behind Hunter, they couldn't help but steal glances from each other. Blake placed his hand on his older brother's shoulder.

"Come on. We got to take our seat."

Hunter nodded, turning to go sit down. Shane finally budged from the spot and sat with his older brother. Porter also seamed a bit out of it, but not so much as Shane was. As everyone sat down, a priest walked up onto the Podium. He cleared his throat and began to talking.

"It is with great sorrow to have to do this today. Everyone here has lost someone important, a man with potential and dreams to change the world. Waldo Brooks should not be forgotten in everyone's heart and memory. It is a shame what has happen today.."

Hunter continued to listen, but his mind couldn't help but drift back to a few months ago. He leaned back on the chair and shifted his eyes downward.

_2 years and 2 Months ago (1 Month after Dustin's suicide attempt)_

"Dustin, watch out!" The Thunder Ninja shouted.

The dirty blonde watched as Dustin lost control of the moto bike and crashed into a stack of hay. A burst of laughter shout of Hunter as he ran over and helped his buddy up. Dustin groaned, taking off his helmet.

"Dude, I'm really rusty."

"That you are." Hunter picked up his bike, "It'll take time."

"Well I got all the time I need, right?" He snickered.

Hunter laugh, "Of course man."

Dustin grabbed a hold of his bike, he climbed on it and turned to him, "After this we should hook up with Tori and grab some food!"

"I am starving."

"Good!" Dustin exclaimed, "I know a great place to eat!"

"I'm really glad you're back." Hunter responded, tossing his helmet towards his bike.

"Me too." The brunette looked down at his bike.

"I always believed you could do it." He smiled, "You took it a lot better then I did."

"How did you take it?"

"I'll save that for another story." Hunter grinned, "Now last one to do 3 laps has to buy lunch."

"You're on!" Dustin screamed.  
  
Hunter snapped back to reality just as the priest finished the service. He closed his eyes again, he had wish he told Dustin how he handled it. Maybe it would have helped Dustin, it made the crimson blonde feel that everything that just happened was his fault. He moved his eyes to see Cam walking up to the Podium.

"Dustin was my friend." He began to talk, "I guess he was the one guy who I can count on to lighten my mood. The guy who can always tell me to mellow out. To look at the fun things in life when I acted so serious. It's a shame he lost his life, it isn't fair. Nothing ever is, I just wish I could tell him that I don't see him as an airheaded moron. I see him as a good hearted friend. And I will miss him."

As Cam moved off, Marah stood up and walked up to him. Everyone watched as she grabbed a hold of the wooden podium, looking out at the eyes watching back.

"Dustin." She smiled, "My first love. He was such a sweet man, the kind every girl wished to have. Though we had our differences, he still has a place in my heart. Like an older brother, he was like family and it hurts to lose family."

Shane had his arms crossed, his wound was still a bit sore. He looked away as Marah continued to talk. His mind was wondering, he couldn't stay focus. As he heard the foot steps, he turned to see Marah walking off. He completely missed the last half of the speech Marah wanted to say.

"Is there anyone else that would want to take a chance to say a few last words?" He looked into the crowd, "Anyone?"

Tori stood up, taking out the piece of paper. She walked over to the podium and glanced at Kelly who was in tears. Tori tried to fight back her own tears as she placed the paper on the podium.

"I found this note in Dustin's apartment. I thought everyone should hear this." She looked back down at the paper, "It says 'I have looked in the mirror a thousand times, and in those thousand times I can longer see myself. I see sorrow and I see pain. But every time I look at the reflection of what I despise most, I hope that I would see something good from it. That the mirror image would show what I have missed. Maybe I am missing a piece in the puzzle, that I can only find if I look deep down within myself." Everyone listened closely she continued reading, Marah began to understand why Tori kept looking into the mirror earlier, "And every.. And every.."

Tori was having a hard time finishing the sentence. She closed her eyes, a memory was overwhelming her.

_2 years and 4 months ago (Same day as the premier of Dustin's speech.)_

Tori drove her baby blue van into the beach parking lot. She parked it and climbed out, noticing Dustin standing on the beach. Making her way towards him, she reached out and grabbed his hand. He turned, she smiled brightly as she pulled him close. Reaching up, she wiped his tears away.

"Im sorry." He whispered.

"It's okay." She responded back.

The blonde watched as he moved his hand down her body, she couldn't help but flinch at the scar the bullet wound.

"I love you." 

She pulled him close and the two of them kissed deeply. It was a kiss that Tori could never forget.  
Tori came back to reality, bursting into tears. She couldn't help but remember the first real kiss that Dustin gave her that day. She moved off and sat down next to Blake, who was holding her tightly. Shane stood up, he wanted to say something. He couldn't stay quiet anymore. Walking to the front, he turned and looked at everyone. He didn't even go up to the podium, he stood on the ground.

"I just lost a friend and it hurts so much. Especially after all the promises I made him. But deep down, I can't help but feel so angry that he went about this all wrong. Because of him, I lost my family. I lost my parents." Tears weld in his eyes, "And every day I have to remind myself that it isn't his fault. Because Dustin is my friend, he would never put us in danger. No matter how stupid he is." His voice began to raise, "He would never do that. I trust him! And he was so close in recovering, so close in coming back to us all." He was practically screaming, "And now he is gone! Completely. And I would have killed that man for what he did to my parents and to my friend!!!"

He froze at those words. The conversations echoed in his head.

_"You know, you don't seam to get it!"_

"NO!" Shane roared, "You don't get it." He pushed him back, "You're too caught up in your pain to realize that your hurting everyone around you. Snap out of it before you kill yourself!"  
  
Shane couldn't believe it, Dustin was right. He didn't truly understand, not in till now. He closed his eyes again, the room remained silent. 

_Day of the Incident_

Shane and Tori bursted through the Hospital entrance, with the medics coming right behind with three stretchers. Turning, Tori and Shane watched as they saw Mr and Mrs Clarke get rolled away, and then Dustin right after. A doctor rushed up towards them.

"Sir, please. I need to take care of that wound." He insisted.

Shane groaned and nodded, as the Doctor took him away. Tori crossed her arms, heading to the waiting room. She paced around, still crying. A half hour had past and Blake, Hunter and Cam showed up.

"Are they all right?" Hunter quickly asked, "We heard what happened?"

"Oh god." Tori buried herself in Hunter's arm, "It was horrible."

Shane came walking out, bandaged up. He slowly made his way towards them, Cam and Blake went up to him.

"You okay man?" Cam asked with concern.

He nodded, "Yeah."

An hour had past, the gang were all slouched in the waiting room chairs. They were tired, finally the Doctor appeared. Everyone bolted up, and waited, hoping for good news.

"I'm sorry." He turned to Shane, "There was no way to save your parents."

Shane backed away, looking down.

"And Dustin?" Tori quickly asked

He sighed deeply, Tori knew it wasn't going to be good news, "A normal man would have been able to be saved, but because of his condition and from the reports of him taking Heroine and Alcohol, his body couldn't handle it the damage. We had stopped the bleeding, but he gave out on us about 10 min ago. I'm sorry."

Tori screamed in horror, as she covered her face and started to cry even louder. The Doctor walked away, passing Porter who was rushing towards them.

"Sorry I'm late. I didn't get the message till now."

"They're gone bro." Shane quivered, "All three of them."  
  
Shane blinked a few seconds, looking around to see whispering. He cleared his throat, he was breathing heavily, "I'm sorry. I can't do this anymore."

"Then may I wrap it up?" An unknown feminine voice echoed behind everyone.

Shane looked up and watched as a long wavy brunette walked down the aisle. She looked familiar. She was slender and was wearing a black outfit. She walked over to Shane. Some people began to whisper some more, trying to figure out where she has seen her.

"I know you.." Shane began to trail off, "Why are you so familiar?"

She turned and looked at everyone, "That's because my name is Amber Brooks."

Everyone gasped, Tori especially, "Amy!?" She bolted up, "But.."

Hunter turned and whispered, "Dustin's sister? Thought she died."

"I know many of you are very confused." She glanced at Shane, "But allow me to explain. After hearing the lost of my father, I was unable to make it to the funeral. That's why I wasn't there, and after viewing the records and the accident report, I knew it wasn't it an accident. I had an investigation taken care of. The detective I hired, I believe met with Tori and Dustin which started this ordeal and sent a chain of events."

"That explains why the investigation started, and how Dustin even found out, "Hunter stood up, "But that doesn't explain your 'death'"

"After my mother died, the detective gave me a new identity and moved me from where I originally lived and claimed I was dead to keep me safe. He knew I would be the next target. I wasn't able to see Dustin, I had to keep a low key."

"Why did you wait so long?" Shane cracked at each voice, "The killer died two years ago. You could have prevented this. He had no family to turn to."

She looked down, feeling ashamed, "I was scared." She replied, "I heard he was dangerous, I heard he was uncontrolled. I thought it be best to wait for him to go through it all before I show up."

"The only thing you did was cause more pain." Blake was a bit angry, "Its just.."

"You're right. That is why I am here to set things right." She turned to the casket, "I am so sorry for everything, Dustin. But I hope you rest in peace, knowing that everyone loves you and will never forget you."

------

4 or 5 hours had past and the burial of the casket in the graveyard was complete. Everyone except for Amber, Marah and the 5 rangers had gone home. The others were standing at the grave, the rain was falling on them all. It was pouring pretty hard, Amber and Hunter and Cam were each holding an umbrella. They starred at the grave for a few min in silence before Hunter turned.

"We should get going." He suggested, "Before we catch a cold."

Amber nodded, as she, Cam and Blake turned to began walking. Hunter was about to leave also, when Tori stopped him.

"I need to talk to you." She whispered.

Hunter nodded and noticed Shane standing in the rain, "Come on bro. You should get going?"

"I'll catch up."

Hunter and Tori began to walk a different path from the others. Shane knelt down in the rain, letting the water drip down his face. His clothes were soaked, but at this point it didn't matter. He just closed his eyes to clear his mind.

Tori stopped Hunter in the middle of the path, she turned to him, biting her lips.

"What's the matter?" Hunter was getting concern as he held the umbrella over them, "You can tell me."

"Hunter. I'm pregnant."

Hunter's eyes widen, he was speechless. He tried to form the words, "How.. How do you know?"

"I took a test before the funeral. I think it's Dustin."

Hunter dropped the umbrella and pulled her in for a hug, the rain fell upon them but it didn't matter at this point.

"I'm scared." She whispered, "I don't think I can do this by myself."

"It's all right." He whispered, "Were here for you."

"I know." She whispered softly, "I know.."

------

Shane opened his eyes back up, standing up to look at the sky. The rain continue to fall, he stuff his hands in his pocket.

"Goodbye, friend."

He slowly turned and began to walk down the trail by himself. The water ran down the grave and towards the tilled soil. The yellow flowers began to collect the water, it half covered what was written on the grave. Suddenly an unknown dark streak zipped past the grave, causing the flowers to bend the other way to reveal the writing. It wrote 'Waldo "Dustin" Brooks. 1986-2007.' and below it 'You will be with us forever." 

**THE END**

A/N: Hope you enjoyed the story! And hope you read it closely, I gave many hints which obviously means Im writing a sequel to this!! Thanks for all your reviews!


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